Meshii
by Narutoenthusiast
Summary: Something went wrong with the seal holding the fox and Naruto lost his vision. However, despite being adopted by a loving family, darkness still lurks in the shadows and manages to find the one to inherit its power. Now, with this new power, Naruto will shake the foundations, protecting those he cherish and punishing those who threatens him from both outside and inside threats.
1. Prologue

**Meshii (blindness)**

**Beta: Dreetje**

**Summary: **Something goes wrong with the sealing ritual and Naruto ends up losing his vision in the process. With the help of one man, the boy will grow strong and show to the world the real meaning of hard work. However, being the village's scapegoat and without his sight to aid him, can he survive? This story is a response to Pudgypudge's challenge called "Darkness is my friend".

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Unexpected**

Nothing but rain could be felt as Minato managed to defeat the almighty Kyuubi no Yoko. He was lying on the ground looking at the sky as it was crying because of what he had to sacrifice for the sake of the village. After a while, he looked at the only person that was next to him at the moment. He looked at the little infant for what seemed like forever, since he knew it would be the last time he would get to see him. Minato could only imagine the type of burden he ended up placing on his son. The young Hokage knew about the path of a Jinchuuriki and he very well knew that their lives were far from normal.

He remembered the request he made to those he called his family, but Minato was skeptical to believe that the village would treat him as the hero he deserved to be. The fox was responsible for so many deaths and destruction that the civilian population would think it would be wise to simply kill Naruto and end their misery.

Even on the verge of dying, Minato was crying now. The reason was that he remembered his wife's passing just after giving birth to Naruto. And while he knew he would meet her up there, Naruto, on top of facing the burden of the Kyuubi no Yoko, would have to face it as an orphan. However, the only thing he could do right now was to cry for he knew that any second now, his last breath would vanish and he would leave this plan of existence. He only had maybe a couple of minutes before the Shinigami came to collect his soul.

Approaching his crying son, Minato managed to dry his own tears and held Naruto like any parent would when they wanted to calm their offspring. He hugged Naruto with utmost intensity, before one Anbu member and Jiraiya arrived. They saw the scene being placed and looked down in sadness for this moment would never happen again.

"Jiraiya-sama…" – Said Kakashi, but was interrupted when Jiraiya looked on the ground in dismay.

"Let them be together Kakashi. This will be first and last time father and son get to spend some time together. The sad part is that Naruto won't even remember, but at least Minato could go to the beyond with the notion of what it meant to be a father." – Said Jiraiya with the utmost control on the outside, but on the inside, he was holding his tears from falling down his face. However, just looking his prodigy crying as well, Jiraiya wasn't strong enough and just let it all out. He began to cry as well, knowing deeply what Minato was thinking at the moment.

They saw the light vanish from Minato's eyes , but instead of falling on the ground hard, the blond Hokage gently laid Naruto on the ground next to him on the ground before letting gravity run its course. After that, Jiraiya approached the two blondes and kneeled next to Minato, closing his eyes and offering a silent prayer for the gods. While this was going on, Kakashi approached and hugged the crying baby before looking at Jiraiya to know what to do.

"Jiraiya-sama, what should we do now?" – Asked Kakashi, earning the sannin's attention.

"We'll take him to sensei; I believe he's at the Hokage's office right now, dealing with the emergency issues. I believe Minato here gave instructions to him" – Said Jiraiya, earning a nod from Kakashi.

* * *

**===At the Hokage's office===**

The Sandaime Hokage was found once again seating behind the most honored table in all of Konoha like he did at the last great shinobi war. However, the old man was really feeling how old he was when he first seated after stepping down. It was astounding the pressure right now and Hiruzen Sarutobi had to control his breathing so as not to feel crushed. Right now, the entire village's decisions were resting on his shoulders and he was old enough to wish that someone would be on his shoes without even thinking of being selfishness.

However, the only person ready to deal with the responsibilities of a Hokage right now was dead so the Sandaime Hokage would have to step up once more. For now, the only order he had to give was for the remaining shinobi to gather a complete report of the damages sustained by the village because of the Kyuubi no Yoko. Right now, the hospital was filled with both wounded shinobi and civilian waiting to be treated and Sarutobi feared that he would have to use other spaces for treatment. When both Jiraiya and Kakashi entered the door, Sarutobi managed to see the blond infant on Kakashi's arms and sighed in dismay.

For all his wisdom concerning shinobi aspects of life and the decisions that followed, Sarutobi was lost concerning the only offspring of one Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage and vital key to Konoha becoming victorious at the last shinobi war. He read Minato's instructions concerning his actions and how to address his son in the future. Sarutobi saw reason behind referring Naruto as the hero that saved Konoha from the almighty fox demon; however his old age taught him many things as to how people deal with loss.

He remembered his two students abandoning their village because of it, although he at the time cursed Orochimaru's motive for leaving. Tsunade, though, left the village because she couldn't deal with the pain of losing both her little brother and her soon to be husband because of the war. So, the 'professor' as he became known throughout his career, knew that showing Naruto to the population with the truth would cause hatred and grief to those who, as Tsunade suffered so much. Sarutobi knew that the fox would be the main reason of hatred from the population and he feared that Naruto could end up being a scapegoat.

Not to mention being on the end of a considerable number of individuals who think that ending the boy's life would be the solution to their problems.

"Ah Jiraiya, I only wished you could take this seat instead of me, but you wouldn't like that, don't you?" – Said Hiruzen, before seeing his student's dejected look. Normally, the perverted Sannin would give a nasty reply, saying that he wouldn't be able to do his research and even making something up about maintaining his spy network, but now he didn't have what to say to the old man.

Sarutobi could only smile in sympathy for a man who just lost the man he always considered his son.

"Don't worry Jiraiya, I know of your loss...Minato-kun was like a son to me, but I can't imagine how it must be for you right now. Now, we must discuss about the boy in Kakashi's arms" – Said the Sandaime, earning a nod from Jiraiya and Kakashi. "Minato-kun, before leaving with his son, entrusted me with the welfare of the village until I find one suitable to be the Godaime Hokage. I know it will take a while for that to happen, but at least I'll have some help running this village. I'll instate both my teammates and create a council that will aid the Hokage in all matters both civilian and shinobi" – Said Hiruzen, earning a nod from those present.

The reason was simple, Konoha was devastated. The village needed money to rebuild the village and medical supply for the wounded. However, a hidden shinobi village's income is measured by the amount of missions they do. So the shinobi population would have to step up and carry out the immense pile of mission requests that was so carefully separated.

Giving the recent events, Sarutobi could deny all mission requests and he would have a valid reason for such. However, if he did this, he would condemn Konoha's future for two reasons. One, other hidden villages would know of the weakened state and start another war, something which the hidden village in the leaves couldn't afford at the moment and the other reason would be that the minute one mission is denied, the village's reputation would decrease, thus not receiving as much missions as before.

Looking at the list once more, Sarutobi let out another sigh and looked at his student.

"According to Minato, he wished that the truth behind the Fuinjutsu (sealing technique) to be shared with the public and that Naruto is to be referred as the hero that saved Konoha from the Kyuubi no Yoko. And while I tried to dissuade him of this idea, I cannot do things differently. Minato deserves this much from us" – Sandaime exposed Minato's wishes regarding Naruto, but both Kakashi and Jiraiya frowned regarding the blond's naivety. However, all those in the room knew better than denying the Yondaime Hokage's wishes. It was the least that they could do for Minato and give a silent hope that Naruto has as less trouble as possible while growing up.

"Sensei, where is he going to live? Who is going to take care of him?" – Asked Jiraiya to which Sarutobi frowned and fell into a thinking pose once again. Truly, Naruto needed treatment for the first two years, in order to be able to grow up healthy and nourished. Sarutobi didn't think that far ahead for simple reasons. The entire village just suffered sufficient damages and very soon, all the decisions would fall to him and his council. Now, he would get to assign someone to take care of the child. Now this was the tough part, he couldn't think of someone to take care of this child without thinking of taking advantage and try to kill him.

He had no choice but to take care of the child, at least until he had enough age to join Konoha's orphanage.

"I'll take him to my house and assign someone of the Sarutobi Clan to take care of him until he is four years old. After that, he'll be placed at the orphanage, he'll be well taken care of" – Said Hiruzen, hoping he would be right in the future.

Jiraiya and Kakashi nodded at the idea, knowing that the Sandaime Hokage would be busy this whole time to take care of baby Naruto.

"Now, Jiraiya I have an S ranked mission for you, starting now. Our reputation outside the village walls must be maintained spread the word to your spy network about our welfare. If the clients know of our situation right now, they will spread the word and we're doomed. Kakashi join your Anbu squad and assist the remaining shinobi with anything they need. I'll expect a full report of the damages sustained by the village in about two hours" – Said Sarutobi, earning a nod from both Jiraiya and Kakashi. Jiraiya immediately vanished and Kakashi would as well, but he first placed Naruto in Sarutobi's care, before disappearing via Shunshin no jutsu.

Sarutobi, after looking at the vanishing Kakashi, looked down to the sleeping blond. Naruto was sleeping so peacefully that Sarutobi couldn't help but smile at the innocent smile of a baby. Leaving the office, he headed towards the Sarutobi Clan's compound.

* * *

**===At the Sarutobi Compound===**

Sarutobi Hiruzen walked inside with a blond infant. The remaining members of the clan approached the old man and asked him about the village's damages.

"Asuma, my son, the fox nearly destroyed the village, but the Yondaime managed to stop it. I'm waiting for the damage's report. I have to deal with something first, though. Is Mikoto-chan here?" – Asked Hiruzen, before hearing the voice of his daughter coming from behind the old man. The Sandaime's daughter was stunning in every way. Black hair and green eyes, with a perfect skin, Mikoto earned a lot of stares. For some reason, yet unexplained by Konoha's medic department, she couldn't have a baby of her own and it frustrated both her and her husband, one Sarutobi Kaito. Kaito was a Chuunin of Konoha and very proficient with the bo-staff style of fighting his father invented. Mikoto didn't want to become a ninja simply because her father's stories kind of scared her.

She looked at the eyes of her father and saw the huge bags below his eyes. The events that happened in Konoha did that to people. However when she looked at the infant, it was an instant motherly reaction. She ran to her father and grabbed the little boy as he began crying.

"Shhh, it's okay little one, you don't need to worry…..I'm here" – Whispered Mikoto to Naruto's ear, before the baby's noise subsided. Naruto instantly opened his blue eyes and looked at Mikoto for a while. However, just as everyone knew he would cry once more, the baby began to smile and extend his little arms and try to caress Mikoto's face, earning a giggle from the woman, who dreamed of this happening. _So cute, this little boy._

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled at the scene and wondered if Naruto was the missing piece of Mikoto's happiness, just as Mikoto was to Naruto's life.

"Mikoto-chan, we have to talk about this little infant" – Said Hiruzen to which Mikoto looked at him before nodding and walking to the living room.

After everyone got comfortable on their seats, Sarutobi Hiruzen began explaining everything what happened. As he explained, Asuma and Kaito frowned upon hearing that Kyuubi was sealed inside the baby, but Mikoto was already showing signs of crying. Poor little baby, she thought. To grow up not only carrying such a burden but also missing the warmth of a parent for comfort. She could only imagine the hardship young Naruto will face in the future. When Sarutobi explained that he took upon himself to raise the boy until his fourth birthday, Asuma protested right away.

"Father, are you serious? This boy harness the fox inside of him, if the fox escapes, he'll kill us all" – Shouted Asuma, before looking at the serious face of his father.

"Asuma, Minato's seal is perfect. Even Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, attested its effectiveness. We are safe from the Kyuubi's power. In regards to my choice, I'm sticking with it" – Stated Hiruzen, before turning to his daughter. "Mikoto-chan, I know of your situation as being unable to conceive children, so I'm asking you a favor to take care of little Naruto at least until he is four and able to step up for himself" – Asked Hiruzen, before watching his daughter with apprehension.

The Sandaime Hokage loved his daughter like no other, even more when his wife passed away and she was not only their offspring, but a living memory of his beloved. He wanted her to accept Naruto like the son she never could, for two reasons. First, he felt devastated when Mikoto explained that she wouldn't be able to conceive and second because she was the only one in Konoha who would provide unconditional motherly love to little Naruto without having second intentions.

Mikoto for her part, looked at her father and then at her husband for a while. She wanted to say yes right away, but if she was to be a mother to Naruto than Kaito was to be his father, so she couldn't do this without him. It was his smiling nod that filled her heart with joy, since she would be finally able to take care of someone like her own son.

"Tou-san, I'll gladly take care of little Naruto just like his mother would've done had she been alive right now, you can trust me" – Concluded Mikoto, earning a smile from Hiruzen, before hearing Kaito's approval as well of taking care of the blond.

"Thanks a lot you two. I'll issue one of the family physicians to look after him from time to time, so as to make sure nothing is wrong with the boy. Now, let's settle little Naruto somewhere warm since I'll have to return to my office" – Said Hiruzen to which Mikoto nodded and carried her surrogate son to his new room.

* * *

**===At the Hokage's office===**

After arriving at his office, he saw the report on top of his table and frowned immediately. He knew about the devastation since he saw the whole thing happening. But numbers managed to gave him a precise idea of Konoha's losses because of the attack and quite frankly, he wasn't looking forward to reading it. Upon seating at his chair, he controlled his breathing and opened it the scroll to read its contents.

As he read through the report, the old man couldn't help but feel useless to this whole ordeal. The village's population took a heavy blow and almost forty percent of it was dead. Sarutobi was a firm believer that while the village walls are destroyed, the village would still live on since the ones living within would rebuild as much as possible. However, not only the buildings were destroyed, but also many lives were taken away.

Flipping the page, Sarutobi was now reading the shinobi report regarding their numbers right now and those who lost their lives trying to defend the village from the monster. The greatest loss was on the Chuunin department, since they are supposed to be on the front lines. The Jounin suffered as well, since they were second in line with the Genins following close behind, since they were responsible for securing as much of the civilian population as possible. The Anbu division was similar to the Jounin.

The old Hokage grabbed an empty parchment and began taking notes. The surviving Genins will be tested to see if they could become Chuunin and assume the C and low B ranked missions and the Jounin would take the high B to A ranked ones. Sarutobi could say he was pleased with the fact that S ranked missions weren't amongst the requests or else he would have to deploy a team of elite Jounin to do it. Thinking in details, the improvised Chuunin test would consist of combat fighting to test their abilities and a field test to see if they have what it takes to perform tougher missions. Normally, they would be tested in terms of teamwork as well, however due to their circumstances; the test would have to be cut short.

Sarutobi also wrote about the academy. For Konoha to reestablish its military strength, the academy would have to increase its training regimen. Because of the attack, the total shinobi losses consisted of thirty percent which meant close to five hundred to a thousand ninjas that would need to be replaced.

After writing about the new academy, Sarutobi looked at the next page which contained the wounded both civilian and ninjas. One thing was sure; he would request a meeting with the Daimyo for some medication supply. As Konoha stands, word can't be spread of its necessities, so the Sandaime would have to meet with the Daimyo in person, explaining the situation and requesting immediate assistance. Also, Sarutobi saw the damage to the buildings and frowned once more. The damage was extensive and the old man doubted Konoha had the human resources to build everything from scratch. He would have to contract some engineers and architects for the village's reparation, however this subject he would leave with the council as it's not shinobi related.

For now, it was all he could do at the moment as he finished reading the report.

"Genma, please appear before me" – Yelled Sarutobi, before the Chuunin appeared.

"What do you request of me Lord Hokage?" – Asked Genma as he kneeled in respect of the old man.

"Genma, please assemble my teammates Homura and Koharu as well as all the current clan heads, I must address them right away" – Ordered Hokage, earning a nod from Genma, before he vanished in thin air.

Not even a half an hour later, all those who were summoned were present at the Hokage's room.

"Thank you all for coming despite the recent events. I know that everyone in this room sustained great pain because of the Kyuubi no Yoko, however I will address certain aspects in order for our future to be bright. First of all, Homura and Koharu are to create a council that will assist the Hokage in all matter that do not concern shinobi. I trust that you two will be able to provide me with enough help for me to be able to secure the village's welfare and prosperity. Now, I've read the damage report and found that our shinobi force was heavily reduced. So it will be up to us to help increase our numbers once more. The clan heads and I will gather tomorrow to create a new Chuunin exam for the existing Genins to progress and take the huge pile of missions. Also we'll think of ways to improve the academy regimen in order to improve the quality of our future shinobi. Any questions so far?" – Asked Sarutobi, before he saw the Nara clan head raise his hand.

"Hokage-sama, if I may ask, how did the Yondaime managed to defeat the fox? I know it's not related to your explanation so far, but the village deserve to know the truth" – Said Shikaku, before seeing the new Hokage sigh in dismay.

"I apologize for not explaining to you about it, as I had a lot to process in my mind, I'll explain everything to you…" – Said Sarutobi, as he began to explain the story behind the fox's sealing on Naruto. The old man told them everything, of course leaving the part where Uzumaki Naruto is the son of the Yondaime. To say the clan heads were surprised would be an understatement. They all heard Minato's wishes to Naruto being treated as the hero that saved Konoha from the wrath of the fox and while some of them felt pity of the boy, others thought the opposite. Of course, those who wished against his living were those who sustained a great number of losses and couldn't put it pass them to realize that the boy did nothing to receive such death sentence.

"I'll soon address the population to explain the same thing I'm explaining to you all and tell them about this village's hero as per Minato's wishes. That will be all for now and I'll see everyone tomorrow for the meeting" – Said Sarutobi, before seeing the clan heads along with Homura and Koharu leaving the office. However, only one remained and Sarutobi addressed him.

"What is it Kakashi-san?" – Asked Sarutobi, seeing the frown in dismay from the man who thought of Minato as his father.

"Hokage-sama, pardon me but I'm concerned about Naruto's safety after you tell the news to the population. They will certainly think of a way to kill him in hopes of getting rid of the fox and we can't let sensei's son unprotected" – Stated Kakashi, earning a nod in understanding from the Hokage.

"Kakashi-san, my son in law will be responsible for his well-being until I can find a suitable suitor to protect him at the age of four. He is one of my clan's finest and no civilian would dare break in my clan's house and try assaulting Sarutobi Kaito. Also, both Asuma and I live there as well, so I believe Naruto will be well protected. I know you're concerned about the boy Kakashi, but right now we have most urgent matter to attend, like the village's reconstruction" – Said Sarutobi, earning nod from Kakashi before the silver haired man vanished.

* * *

**===At night inside the Sarutobi Compound===**

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not require much sleep in his life. Even in his old age, the Sandaime Hokage was always alert to his surroundings and only needed close to 4-5 hours of sleep. However, tonight he would settle for a full 8 hour sleep, after what happened today. After the meeting in his office, he assembled the villagers and explained what happened and about one Uzumaki Naruto as being the hero of Konoha. However, after he explained, the villagers immediately begin to shout for the child's elimination as expected. While the old man knew about this, he expected that some of them understood the boy's side, but instead he had a unanimous vote.

It wasn't until Sarutobi unleashed his killing intent, that the crowd stopped talking in fear of unleashing the professor's wrath. Now, Sarutobi knew that perhaps his son-in-law wouldn't be enough to protect Naruto. He would have to place an Anbu to protect the house from the outside in order to prevent anyone from breaking in the compound's territory. He conversed with his son-in-law and explained that he would be full time with his wife taking care of the baby instead of doing missions for the village. Kaito at first urged the man to reconsider, but after some reasoning from the old man, he accepted his duty and gave an oath to protect Naruto like he would protect his own son.

Closing his eyes, Sarutobi was in less than five seconds, already asleep as he would need his full energy tomorrow.

* * *

**===At Naruto's room===**

The infant was asleep as well. He had a lot of milk from Mikoto and now he felt like sleeping just like any baby whose stomach was full. However, inside of him, someone wasn't happy as sounds of screaming could be heard. The fox demon was responsible for almost leveling the entire village and now here he was trapped inside a baby. He would slam his body on the cage, but to no avail since the seal placed in front of it prevented the fox from escaping.

"**Damn that puny human, how dare he do this to the almighty Kyuubi no Yoko. I'll skin him alive for this…."** – Screamed Kyuubi, clearly not bothered that Minato was already dead because of the sacrifice that he needed to do.

His chakra was flaring like crazy inside Naruto's stomach as the fox tried everything to break free of his prison. The seal, though, wouldn't allow it as it managed to harden the cage once more, thus preventing the chakra to leave the cage. However, the seal wasn't strong enough to contain the fox's chakra and Kyuubi was able to leak some of it outside the cage. From the outside, Naruto woke up violently and began to scream with pain as the fox's chakra began to surround his body. Almost immediately, the chakra was felt by everyone inside the compound as they rushed to Naruto's room.

The Sandaime felt it the second it emerged and cursed the heavens for not giving the village some peace after everything that happen. He was the first one to arrive at the scene and saw the red chakra pouring out of Naruto's tiny body. Afterwards, Kaito, Asuma, Mikoto and Naruto's medic-nin arrived as well.

"Father, what's happening? I thought you said the seal would keep Kyuubi at bay" – Shouted Asuma, but Sarutobi wouldn't hear it and inspected the seal. _The seal didn't break, it's still intact, so Kyuubi must be leaking its chakra somehow – _Thought the Sandaime as he considered doing something to subdue the fox's chakra back to the seal.

The old man Hokage would do something with his limited Fuinjutsu knowledge, but out of nowhere, the seal on the blond's stomach began to shine for a while, before the red chakra disappeared. However, Naruto's pain didn't stop and the medic-nin rushed to see what was causing such pain. Mikoto was holding her heart and barred her face on her husband's chest. She didn't want to see her surrogate son like this, she didn't want to hear him cry any longer. The medic began to scan the little body to see where the pain was coming from, until he reached the region of Naruto's eyes. Sighing in dismay, he used the basic healing technique around Naruto's eyes, thus subsiding Naruto's pain entirely. The boy stopped crying and soon fell asleep.

"Houshou-san, what's the problem? What happened with him?" – Asked Sarutobi, clearly concerned after he saw the man using the medic technique on Naruto's eyes.

"Sandaime-sama, it's with great sadness that I tell you this and I hope that you along with your family can understand the seriousness of this situation. I don't know why or how It happened, but when I scanned Naruto's body, particularly his eyes, I found that the optic nerve was severely damaged. I believe that it happened due to over-exposure to Kyuubi's poisonous chakra" – Explained the medic, but by the looks of those present, they didn't understand the implications.

"Sir, when said nerve is damaged, the main organ function is eliminated" – Explained the medic, this time earning gasps from both Hiruzen and Mikoto who finally understood what happened to the boy. Mikoto dropped on the floor unconscious and Kaito grabbed her while Sarutobi Hiruzen could only speak a certain number of words.

"So, you are saying that….that Naruto…" – Said Sarutobi, not daring to complete the sentence, but unfortunately, the doctor filled in the blanks.

"Naruto is blind, sir" – Concluded Houshou as he looked at the old man Hokage who this time didn't care if other saw him being weak. The Sandaime Hokage cheeks were stained with tears, both for him and for Naruto who wouldn't even be able to cry, because of what happened. _Oh my god Minato, what will happen to you son now? _– Thought Hiruzen as he saw the rain beginning to fall. _Are you crying as well Minato? For yet another burden has been placed on your son._


	2. A light in darkness

**

* * *

****Chapter 2 – A light in darkness**

**Beta: Dreetje**

* * *

Four years had passed ever since people discovered that Naruto would never see in his life. His optic nerves were so damaged and no doctor managed to heal Naruto's sight after close to one month of trying. At first, Mikoto was a wreck, feeling for her surrogate son, what will soon to be his worst nightmare in years to come. Sarutobi Mikoto knew from books on the subject, that a blind person often times suffers far worse than normal people, since for Naruto to learn anything; he wouldn't be able to process anything using his eyes and of course, would have to use his other senses like touch, smell and hearing. The little fellow was now sleeping on his bed and even though he already knew his disability, Mikoto was able to see that her surrogate son was smiling. By seeing this, she couldn't help but smile upon seeing Naruto put up a strong front despite being a handicapped.

_I have to be as strong as him with this if I want him to count on me for comfort in the future._ – Thought Mikoto as she landed a kiss on his forehead, before covering him a little bit for warmth.

"Mikoto-chan, your father is calling for us in the living room" – Called Kaito from Naruto's door, earning the gorgeous woman's attention, before she nodded.

"Okay honey, I will be there shortly" – Said Mikoto, as he kissed Naruto once more and offered silent prayers for the little boy in the future, before closing the door and heading for the living room to face her father sitting on his favorite chair as he enjoyed a nice cup of tea. Mikoto could very well see the bags below her father's eyes and remembered trying to reason with him to take some rest, but being rejected by Hiruzen, explaining, kindly, that until Konoha is fully rebuilt, he just couldn't afford to rest.

"You called for me, Tou-san?" – Asked Mikoto as she entered the room, earning the attention of her father who couldn't help but smile every time he saw his loving daughter. It was like she could wash away everything that troubled the aged Hokage.

"My lovely daughter, I don't want to disturb your time with little Naruto, there is just one minor subject that needs to be taken care of" – Said Hiruzen, earning a nod from his daughter as he continued. "Naruto will be four years old tomorrow and I wanted, at first, place him in an orphanage where he could be well taken care of; however now that he's handicapped, that won't be possible, therefore I need to think of a suitable place for him to stay. I know you always wanted a child, but I would understand if you said you weren't prepared for taking care of a blinded child. Naruto will need someone for him a hundred percent of the time, at least until he could learn to cope well with his disability. The question is…I wanted you and Kaito-san here to adopt Naruto, but this decision is up to you two. I know Naruto has been a handful to you too because of the recent attack attempts on him and his constant crying because of the pain in his eyes, so I'll leave this decision to you two and you'll give me when you're ready to" – Explained Hiruzen, before he said that he would sleep for the day, leaving his daughter and son-in-law alone to talk.

Mikoto would give the answer right away, because during these four years, she developed a link with the little blond up to the point of managing to ease his anxiety upon not being able to see. She even managed to teach, at least tried to, how to depend on other senses like hearing and smell which on certain occasions, Naruto did manage to. Mikoto remembered when Naruto recognized her smell when she entered his room once, which at the time filled her heart with joy. However, she looked at Kaito to hear if he had some objections to adopting Naruto. She knew how many times people tried entering the Sarutobi Compound to kill Naruto only to meet Kaito's bo-staff. She even remembered when a drunken Jounin managed to land a Genjutsu on her husband and paralyzed him. The man would have been able to invade the compound, if hadn't Asuma stopped him with his trench knifes.

Kaito on his side wondered about the times where he had to stop people from entering the compound and to tell the truth, he felt that the house wasn't as safe as before. He as well, developed a liking to the little blond. When Kaito would train his bo-staff style, he would see Naruto trying to walk on his own, falling down a lot, but never quitting. Kaito was a man that respected strength and strong will and Naruto, at the age of four, despite all the hardships, managed to earn his surrogate father's respect. Actually, the fights he had with people that tried to break in served for training and while he couldn't go on missions until Naruto managed to defend himself (which could take a while), he at least got to test his training against those who try to kill Naruto.

Also, Kaito loved Mikoto more than anything and he very well knew that she developed a motherly link with Naruto. Given this fact, he wouldn't even think of disagreeing with the Hokage on them adopting Naruto. He could already picture the number of things he could teach Naruto about being a ninja and maybe, just maybe, if his son could manage to overcome the blindness, he could very well become a full-fledged shinobi in the future.

"Mikoto-chan, Naruto has been as much of a son to me as he is to you, we just cannot let him go after everything we've been through as a family. I want us to teach him many things in the future and maybe, even, teach him how to be a shinobi, even if he can't ever be one. How about we adopt him?" – Asked Kaito, as he smiled to Mikoto who in turn threw herself at her husband and hugged with utmost intensity.

Upon hearing Kaito's opinion about adopting Naruto, Mikoto couldn't help but throw herself in her husband's arms. Kaito has a firm personality and often time, chose to think rationality than relying on emotion, hence why the beautiful woman thought that her husband wouldn't want to adopt little Naruto. Little did she know, though, that not only Kaito had a soft spot for Naruto, but also the fact that Naruto earned Kaito's respect.

"Honey, I thought you wouldn't want to adopt Naruto, I know how much it pained you the last time a Jounin tried to assassinate him and almost got you instead, not that I'm complaining, but why did you choose to adopt Naruto?" - Asked Mikoto, though the smile never left her face for as this was the moment she always carved for in her life.

"I admit that protecting him is tougher than I first thought and that if it weren't for Asuma, that man would have succeeded in killing Naruto, however throughout these four years, Naruto-kun earned my respect through hard work in overcoming his blindness. That kid has a bright future ahead of him if he decides to become a shinobi and I want to teach him how to be one. Plus the fact that you wanted a kid ever since we married" - Said Kaito as he smiled to his wife, earning a smile followed by a nod coming from Mikoto.

"Indeed, Naruto-kun, even though blind, always managed to smile and work hard to overcome his lack of sight, but I'm a little bit worried if he decides to be a ninja. I've seen how he reacts to father's stories" - Stated Mikoto.

"Chakra is a wonderful thing Mikoto-chan. With due work, Naruto can use chakra to overcome his blindness. I've seen blind shinobi just as skilled if not better than regular shinobi, because, honestly, a blind shinobi wouldn't have to worry about using his eyes for seeing, rather relying on chakra for that. Plus, he has the Yondaime's blood running through his veins. We can't deny him not following his biological father's footsteps" - Explained Kaito, before seeing Mikoto contemplate what her husband said.

"Not being a kunoichi, I fail to understand the very concept of chakra my love, but if you see reason in him becoming a shinobi, I won't be in the way. Every time my father tells him stories of ninjas, I can very well see that Naruto is hypnotized. It's just a matter of time" - Said Mikoto, earning a nod from Kaito, who then ushered his wife to join him in sleeping for the day to which she accepted.

* * *

**===The next day===**

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled upon seeing the first rays of sunlight reach his window. Every time, he had a good night sleep, the old Hokage would smile for no particular reason. For him, it was a way to better clear the pending documents lying within his office desk and better deal with problems that will sure occur.

Dressing his Hokage attire, Sarutobi would do his routine around the Sarutobi Compound which included visiting his still not official grandson Naruto. He wanted to know right away Mikoto and Kaito's decision regarding the child's adoption, but thought against it since he didn't want to pressure any type of decision. As he walked through the compound's corridors, he received greetings from his servants and family members that enjoyed waking up early. After a while, he reached Naruto's room, before being surprised that Naruto was already awake and using his hands to feel the Braille.

Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but be amazed at the little boy's determination in overcoming his blindness and even with a few lessons on reading Braille; Naruto was already able to read simple tests without assistance.

"Good morning Naruto-kun, had a good sleep?" - Asked Sarutobi before seeing Naruto search for the speaker by the sound of his voice, but still failing miserably as he looked to the opposite side, but still it was commendable to see the boy learning through his disability.

"Hi there Ji-chan; I slept well. I had an awesome dream as well, want to hear it?" - Asked Naruto to which Sarutobi laughed out loud, before acknowledging Naruto's request to share his dream. "Actually, it was about the time where the Yondaime Hokage used his Ninjutsu to defeat Iwa. I dreamed that I was there with him, Ji-chan and the nice part of it all was that even though I was blind in the dream, I managed to overcome it and managed to aid the Yondaime" - Explained Naruto with much enthusiasm, earning a smile from the aged Hokage.

_Every time this kid smiles, I can't help but smile in return. He surely can improve the mood_. - Thought Hokage as he explained that it was indeed a nice dream, until Naruto cut the old man.

Ji-chan, do you think I can become a shinobi, even though I'm blind?" - Asked Naruto, earning a smile from the old man who actually was waiting for said question to come.

"Naruto-kun, just because you're blind, doesn't mean you can't become a shinobi. It will be harder, sure, but it's not impossible. In fact, with enough training you could use your disability to your favor" - Said Hiruzen, before seeing Naruto display a questioned look.

"While others have to rely on their eyes to be a shinobi, you can't. If you really want to be a shinobi, I can find someone who can teach you how to become one without relying on your sight, but rather depending on chakra along with your other senses like hearing, touch and smell" - Explained the Hokage, until he saw the face of pure realization coming from Naruto and even though his eyes displayed a lifeless green, the aged Hokage could see the will of fire emerging within Naruto's facial expressions.

"Really Ji-chan; can I really become a ninja? That's awesome, I'll be the best shinobi ever just you see Ji-chan. I'll be the best ever" - Shouted Naruto shooting his hands up in the air, earning laughter from the Hokage.

"With this attitude, Naruto, there's nothing that will stop you for accomplishing your dream, train hard and learn to live without your eyes, you'll need this type of experience before you can become a shinobi" - Said Hiruzen, earning a nod from Naruto before he positioned his hand on the chair, so that he could sit on it and return to his story.

* * *

**===At the Hokage's office===**

After arriving at his office, Sarutobi Hiruzen scanned his desk to see the report on the village's reconstruction. Four years ago, he and the clan heads devised a plan of action to rebuild the village along with better improving their shinobi program to a point that even with the fox's attack, the village's income didn't decrease. With Chuunin and Jounin handling, truth be told, more missions than they could afford to, and Jiraiya keeping bad information out of the client's ears, it seemed that the Hidden Village in the Leaves would prosper once more in maybe one or two years.

Placing the report in his first drawer, Sarutobi began to see the mission reports that already arrived from yesterday's missions. Some of them were low ranked, mostly to help citizens to deliver important document to other countries. The other part contained A and B ranked missions that scaled from protecting caravans to top assassination missions. A few S ranked requests reached Konoha and those were handed by elite Jounin or even ex-Anbus that chose to leave the squad in favor of better aiding the village through these desperate times.

A sudden knock on the door alerted the Hokage, before he saw both Kakashi and Jiraiya entering the office. Kakashi was now dressed as a Jounin instead of the regular Anbu outfit since he was among others who chose to do missions for the village and bring income to the village's vaults.

"Ah Jiraiya-kun, Kakashi-kun, nice of you to drop by this lovely morning, take a seat…this won't take long" – Said Sarutobi, before he got up and picked two copies to hand to Kakashi and Jiraiya.

"What is this Sensei?" – Asked Jiraiya as he opened the scroll which detailed plans about one little blond in particular.

"That my student, are my plans concerning little Naruto. Soon, he will be four years old and as I said before, he would be placed in an orphanage. However, something happened four years ago and I thought best not to divulge to anyone outside my family out of fear of wrong people overhearing. The truth is Naruto lost his vision due to over-exposure of the Kyuubi's chakra" – Said Sarutobi, pretty much dropping the bomb on the room, as silence rained the mood entirely.

Both Kakashi and Jiraiya were visibly horrified right now. Bearing the burden of the Kyuubi as an orphan was hard enough on Naruto and now losing his sight wasn't something of this world, they both thought.

"Sensei, why didn't you tell me this?" – Shouted Jiraiya, before seeing the dead serious look in his sensei's eyes.

"This is a sensitive topic Jiraiya, my son-in-law already had to protect Naruto twenty times from imbeciles whose names I rather not divulge from fear of delivering pure rampart in the jail cells, do you imagine what would happen if these attacks would increase if they know said information about Naruto. Now, as you read throughout the scroll, I plan to teach Naruto how to be a shinobi as well as overcoming his disability" – Stated Sarutobi, before seeing Kakashi about to speak something.

"Hokage-sama, how is he doing? I know I didn't take the liberty to visit him ever since he was born, but he's my old sensei's son and …" – Said Kakashi, but couldn't complete the sentence, since he felt kind of guilty for not visiting his sensei's legacy. Sarutobi, though, smiled and explained that Kakashi has been on missions non-stop and wouldn't have the time to visit little Naruto.

"Do not worry Kakashi, Naruto is fine. My daughter is taking care of him together with my son-in-law. Also, I've been talking with them to adopt Naruto" – Said Hiruzen, earning a smile from both Jiraiya and Kakashi. They didn't agree with placing Naruto in the orphanage even if he could see. Jiraiya looked at the scroll once more and then spoke to the Hokage.

"So how do you propose to teach him in overcoming his lack of sight?" – Asked Jiraiya to which Hiruzen nodded, smiling.

"One of our recently promoted Jounin, as you know and already worked with Kakashi, happens to be blind. His name is Tobitake Tonbo. He can teach Naruto how to overcome his blindness and even teach him some basic abilities to better aid Naruto throughout the academy in two years" – Stated Sarutobi, earning a satisfactory nod from Kakashi who in turn remembered Tonbo. For someone who rather usually relied on using the Sharingan, Kakashi was amazed at the man from moving just as good if not better than the other Jounin that were on the mission.

"Did you talk to him yet?" – Asked Kakashi to which Hiruzen negated with his head.

"I plan to do it today, since he has yet to return from a B ranked mission I sent him at a village nearby. On occasions, I've read stories to Naruto about the ninja life and the boy just asks for more, he has his father's blood running through his veins and wouldn't be fair to keep him from falling his father's footsteps. Also, if my daughter and her husband adopt him, they will teach him a lot, hence why he will be able overcome his blindness and grow stronger than most. Could you both imagine not having to rely on your eyes? Naruto could very well be the strongest ninja ever, as this happens to be his dream. So, that's all I wanted to tell you two and I hope that Tonbo-san arrives today so that I can debrief him on his next long-term mission.

* * *

**===At the Sarutobi Compound===**

Unaware of her father's plans concerning Naruto, Mikoto was spending time with her soon to be son. Naruto had such energy to spend and his laughter while having fun spoke highly of his character. Mikoto would understand if Naruto grew up to be miserable because of his burdens, but on the contrary, the boy would never take that smile away from his face and the sound of his laughter managed to warmth her heart immensely.

Right now, mother and son were playing at the main yard, a place where Naruto could get in contact with a number of sounds and odors that could help him in the future. Mikoto took the time to explain the most basic concept of distance by the sound's volume. It took a while but Naruto learned how to measure distance by hearing the sounds of nature. What astounded Mikoto, though, was that while she couldn't hear more than a few meters away, Naruto was able to hear two birds singing on top of a tree at least fifty feet high.

"Okay Naruto-kun, what do you want to play next?" - Asked Mikoto as she began to tickle the little fella, before hearing that laughter of joy once more from the infant.

"Stop...hahhahah....stop Kaa-san...stop" - Said Naruto between laughter, with utmost innocence, but Mikoto was stunned. She heard from some women who had children, that the best day of their lives was when their child called them mother for the first time and now Mikoto heard Naruto call her and she agreed with them.

She couldn't bear her heart any longer as it grew immensely by Naruto's affection. Immediately, she hugged Naruto with utmost intensity and so much care that her tears fell freely and some of them landed on Naruto's hair.

The infant was confused. Because of his inability to see that Mikoto's tears were from joy, all he could know was the sniffing noises and the feel of said tears on his head. All the infant could conclude was that his mother was crying and he didn't have the life experience needed to realize that not all tears were bad.

"Kaa-san, why are you sad? Why are you crying?" - Said Naruto, as he used his hands to feel his mother's face, even managing to dry her tears, thus earning a comforting smile from Mikoto.

"I'm not sad Naruto-kun, I'm just happy to be with you" - Explained Mikoto, before seeing the look of pure confusion coming from Naruto, as expected.

"Kaa-san, how can you cry and be happy at the same time? I thought that we cried only when we're sad" - Stated Naruto, earning a true smile from Mikoto.

"Not all tears comes from bad emotions Naruto-kun, there will be times in life when your heart is filled with warmth and you begin to cry tears of joy, that's why I was crying, silly" - Laughed Mikoto, earning a smile in return from Naruto.

"Kaa-san, what is like to cry?" - Asked Naruto to which Mikoto looked on in sympathy for her son.

"Even though you can't cry Naruto, that doesn't mean you cannot feel either sad of happy. Crying is just an effective response of your body upon being subjected to high pain either physical or emotional. Don't worry about never crying Naruto-kun, if you learn how to share your emotions with those you care for, they won't need to see tears to see what you're feeling" - Explained Mikoto to which Naruto nodded.

From a distance, Kaito watched the scene with a smile on his face. He knew how long Mikoto waited to hear someone call her his mother and when he saw her smiling face, he couldn't help but smile as well. He knew he made the right decision to adopt Naruto, no matter the consequences are and he would train hard enough to be able to better protect the new member of the family until he learns how to protect himself.

Suddenly, though, his senses became alert for intrusion. Hiding behind the tree nearby, Kaito spotted two shinobi managing to get passed by the security seals that protected the compound walls, which meant that they are at least Chuunin level shinobi and Kaito didn't need to know their intentions before engaging, but at least he could stall them by talking while he analyzed their skills.

Vanishing within a small tornado, Kaito appeared in front of the two Chuunin.

"Stop right now! You who dared to invade the Sarutobi Compound, tell me your reasons or I will be forced to kick you out of here and request your execution for trespassing private property without proper authorization" - Said Kaito, before seeing the two Chuunin preparing a couple of kunai, before the one with the green shirt spoke.

"We are here to kill the demon all those associated with him. We'll be heroes" - Said the man to which his partner only nodded, before falling in an fighting stance, that Kaito recognized as an advanced version of the academy style of Taijutsu.

"There will be no killing today as long I'm here" - Said Kaito, until he took his bo-staff and charged the Chuunin who upon seeing the imminent attack, threw a barrage of kunai at Kaito. Sarutobi began twirling his weapon, thus stopping all the incoming projectiles, before jumping and preparing his weapon to hit one of them on the shoulders.

The one in green suffered the hit and in seconds, he saw that Kaito landed on the ground and twisted his body to land a reverse kick to the man's chest, thus sending him flying. The other one with a blue shirt charged Kaito as he began doing some hand seals for a small fire technique **Katon Endan **(Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu). Kaito would laugh at the man's pathetic attempt of attack, but instead he just settled for a jutsu of his own.

"It's pathetic to use such an attack, take this...**Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu **(Fire Release: Grand Fireball Jutsu)" - Whispered Kaito as he exhaled a huge fireball, thus not only overwhelming the tiny flame but also engulfing the stupid Chuunin entirely. The man tried to scream, but It was without avail as the flames consumed him entirely. He wasn't dead but on the very least, his ninja career would be over. The one in green shirt screamed for his partner before looking at Kaito who was now directed at him for the kill.

"Your friend paid the price for his stupidity, leave now and maybe I'll spare you. Stay and share the same fate of your partner. Note that everyone who tries to break in this compound will share the same fate" - Said Kaito, as he positioned his bo-staff facing the other enemy who in turn snarled and left.

"Idiots..." - Snarled Kaito as he headed to the compound. He remembered the man's face and would be sure to report to the Hokage in order for him to be questioned and then arrested for treason.

* * *

**===At night at the Hokage's office===**

Reviewing a couple of reports from the Anbu division concerning a threat they handled, Sarutobi lost track of time as he looked back and realized that the sun was already half way down and the moon was already up. Such disposition was only found in his early days as Hokage and the aged Sarutobi couldn't help but smile at the time he received the honor from the Nidaime Hokage to succeed him as Sandaime Hokage. Hiruzen couldn't help but wonder if he cared for the village as much as the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage did. The Senju brothers, as Hiruzen called them sometimes, would stay in this very office from the time the sun emerged to the time where all lights in Konoha would be turned off, in other words, pretty late at night.

Whereas Hiruzen stayed at least until dinner was served in his house, which although was later than most places, it didn't match his predecessors. Hell, even the Yondaime Hokage stayed longer than the old man. However, with old age, the brain is better prepared to deal with hard situations much faster. The old man Hokage was just about to get up from his chair when a knock soon followed, before the very presence he was waiting for, entered the room.

"You wanted to speak me Hokage-sama? Sorry it took a little while for my mission to end, but here I am" – Said Tonbo as he closed the door and positioned himself in the middle of the room. Sarutobi couldn't help but chuckle as a blinded man was actually 'staring' at him directly, since he knew Tonbo to be blind. Not much could be described from Tonbo's close attire since he chooses to be rather undistinguished among other with the regular Jounin attire. The only difference, though, was that his head would be covered in straps, leaving only his mouth free and he would hear his headband in front of where should be his eyes are.

"Ah yes, Tonbo-san, please come in…I was about to retire for the night but you managed to get me here. This will be quick on my part…I'm issuing you on another mission. I understand you hold no ill intent against the little kid who was used to contain the Kyuubi, so you're the right choice for this mission, amongst other reasons as well. You see Tonbo-san, little Naruto wants to be a ninja and due to certain complications, Naruto found himself unable to learn what's necessary on his own, thus needing someone to tutor him in such aspects. That's why I thought of you to be his tutor at least until he enrolled in the academy" – Said Sarutobi, before looking at Tonbo, trying to gauge his reaction, but to no avail. The straps covering his entire face kept the Hokage from studying any sort of facial emotions, also Tonbo trained himself hard since not even his body moved.

Tonbo, for his part, wondered about the catch in what the Hokage explained so far. The Kyuubi kid was never the center of Tonbo's hate, but that couldn't be a reason for placing him to tutor the brat.

"Hokage-sama, not to say that I'm honored that you'd choose me as such, why do you feel I'm the one to teach Naruto-san? Surely, are tons of other Jounin in Konoha who would be better fitted to train him? – Asked Tonbo to which Sarutobi nodded.

"As I said, Naruto had certain complications and a said complication is the most important reason of my choice in placing you for his tutorage. You see a day after Naruto was born; I placed him in my house to be well taken care of until he would be four years old. However, one night, the fox's chakra enveloped his body. You very well know that the fox's chakra is poisonous; so on that night, the fox's chakra hit Naruto's eyes with force, thus damaging his optic nerve severely, Naruto is just like you Tonbo-san, Naruto is blind" – Explained Sarutobi with a heavy heart and Tonbo could feel it since he learned to rely on other senses just like any blinded individual had to if they wanted to live. He could very well see that the Sandaime cared much for little Naruto.

"I understand Hokage-sama, so you want me to teach him how to be a ninja despite the disability we share. What will be the topics of my teaching?" – Asked Tonbo to which the Hokage wiped his tears away.

"Apart from of course teaching him how to overcome blindness, I believe it would be adequate to teach him some physical abilities such as Taijutsu, agility and stamina. Also some chakra exercises as well, like tree walking and water walking." – Explained Hokage, before seeing that Tonbo was about to express something.

"Hokage-sama, for Naruto to overcome his blindness, his notion of chakra would have to be dealt with sooner. I developed techniques that happen to use chakra for guidance. After that, we can focus on the physical, when can I start, Hokage-sama?" – Asked Tonbo, to which Hokage smiled and said that he could very well rest for the night and then present himself at the Sarutobi Compound tomorrow at ten in the morning, which Tonbo accepted and left the room via Shunshin.

Afterwards, the Hokage close the door to his office and left towards his house with a smile on his face, upon finding someone to tutor Naruto.

* * *

**===At the Sarutobi Compound**

Five minutes later, he was already inside the compound as he saw his lovely daughter taking care of some plants that were inside the living-room.

"So daughter, have you and Kaito reached a decision about Naruto's adoption?" – Asked Sarutobi, before seeing that smile on his daughter's face, thus telling him everything he needed to know. "Okay then, go and call Kaito-san, I have good news to speak to both of you" – Smiled Sarutobi as he reached his favorite chair and seated before seeing his daughter reach her husband.

_It seems Naruto's future won't be so dark, after all_ – Thought Hiruzen as he drank a cup of tea, while wondering about his new grandson's future as a shinobi.


	3. Overcoming blindness

**

* * *

****Chapter 3 – Overcoming blindness**

**Beta: Dreetje**

* * *

After leaving the Hokage's office, Tonbo went to his house in order to prepare his material for young Naruto to study under his tutelage. The man couldn't help but feel pity for the boy for sharing the same disability and of course, sharing the same dangerous path he faced upon growing up. To top that off, Naruto was the container of the one to whom the population generated their anger in a rather absurd way.

Sometimes, being blind had its advantages, Tonbo reasoned and one of them was that no matter how much pain he endured on his path, nothing could top the pain he had to endure when he lost his sight. In a way, Naruto was 'lucky' from not losing his eyes later in life. Another side of the pain, namely the emotional, occurred when sight was suddenly taken away from you and darkness followed. As he reached the set of stairs that would lead to his apartment, he didn't even need to use chakra to see the path and the doorknob as he opened the door to his apartment.

Another quirk of being blind was that light was a cost he didn't have to worry about as he began to change into some light clothes, before going to sleep. However, before he could his much deserved sleep, he heard someone knocking on his door, thus awakening him from his almost slumber. Expanding his chakra, he could very well see who was at the door and sighed, since this person wouldn't leave him alone and he very well knew the time, even though he couldn't see. Getting out of the bed, he opened the door before seeing the woman in front of him gasp at the utter darkness inside the man's apartment.

"Gees Tonbo, every time I look at your apartment I got chills down my spine" - Said the woman, before seeing Tonbo sigh in dismay.

"Sorry there Anko, since I'm blind, I kind of don't worry about light and all. What do you need?" - Asked Tonbo, earning a snort from Anko, before she placed both her hands on her waist.

"I was wondering if you have any beer inside, I'm real thirsty and no one at the bar wanted to sell more of the good stuff" - Complained Anko, before seeing a smile on her neighbor's face.

"I think they know you too well Anko. I'd be accurate to believe that one more and you'll be summoning snakes to scare anyone who makes a pass at you. I wonder what happened to the last guy who did it, though. I swear, the snake was twenty feet high and I clearly remembered the sounds of ribs breaking, how much was it? Ten?" - Laughed Tonbo, before dodging a taunting punch on his arms, which at first scared Anko, but she was getting used to see a blind man having better instincts than a normal shinobi.

"I'll go get your beer Anko, I would invite you to come in, but as you can see, you wouldn't see a damn thing." - Said Tonbo as he went back to his apartment while laughing at the joke he pulled, but Anko only snorted at the blind smart ass remark. "Here you go Anko and don't scream too much, I happen to have sensitive ears" - Said Tonbo, before once again laughing his ass off, before entering his apartment once more.

Tonbo happened to graduate at the same time as the snake mistress Anko Mitarashi and he was one of the few who didn't judge her because she was apprenticed to the snake Sannin. Because of that, they befriended each other over time and even got to rent near apartments. They would help each other, with Tonbo faking to be her boyfriend when she wanted to ditch a guy and Anko teaching him some quirks about how to detect human behavior without resorting to the eyes. Working so much with Morino Ibiki, Konoha's head of interrogation, she learned how to catch someone lying or either trying to dismiss some important issue they don't want answered.

In fact, this very disability was what caused Tonbo to fail his Jounin exams many times before. One of the exams consisted of taking information out of an enemy and being able to point whether the guy was lying or not.

As soon as he reached his bed, Tonbo thought about his meeting with young Naruto tomorrow and the material he needed to gather for the boy. Going to his library of books written in Braille, he picked up a few that were vital to Naruto's growth as a blind shinobi. They consisted of chakra introduction, chakra control and some low level Ninjutsu. He picked one for physical exercises; however this last one would be used when Naruto managed to use his chakra for guidance.

After that, he went to sleep knowing that the next two years will be full of surprises as, according to the Hokage, little Naruto was determined and full of energy.

* * *

**===At the Sarutobi Compound===**

The next day, Tonbo was in front of the Sarutobi Compound's gate as he rang the bell to alert the family of his presence. Within minutes, the Hokage himself answered the door, surprising Tonbo greatly.

"Greetings Tonbo-san, I can see that punctuality is one of your qualities. Please come in so I can introduce you to my humble family" - Said Hiruzen as Tonbo nodded, before following the Hokage back to his house. As he entered, the man used chakra and images appeared in his mind's eye like a sonar. He, then, began following Hiruzen around without the need of using his instincts or any other of his senses to aid him. This technique was his creation and it permitted him to substitute his eyes with chakra by sending a sort of chakra pulse all around which would transfer the images to him, through his other sensitive organs, like nose, ears and tact.

Also his skills would grant him an ability close to the Hyuuga's doujutsu, however not fully as he couldn't see the tenketsus, but rather a blurry vision of the chakra circulatory system. This said ability was what made him gasp once he looked at the living room and saw five chakra systems. He recognized four, which belonged to, respectively, the Hokage, Jiraiya, Hatake Kakashi and Sarutobi Kaito. However, it was the fifth chakra that surprised him as it belonged to the little infant who was standing next to a woman, he didn't know.

_I can't believe he's just four years old; his chakra capacity is bigger than a Genin already. His chakra coils are considerably thick for someone his age, but I have no doubt it will grow at least this size in a while, meaning that by the time he is six years old, he will possess more chakra than a Chuunin. I guess, chakra control will be the focus of his training. I'd imagine him using my technique and receive the entire village's landscape. _

"As some of you know or might not know, this is Tonbo and just like Naruto-kun, he also lost his sight. I gave him a mission to tutor little Naruto on how to be a shinobi despite his lack of sight. Tonbo-san, I trust you already know my student Jiraiya and Hatake Kakashi" - Said Hiruzen, earning a nod followed by some greeting. "Also, you know my son-in-law Sarutobi Kaito and his wife, my lovely daughter Mikoto" - Said Hiruzen, before seeing Tonbo greet them as well, before moving to the little boy who was, according to Tonbo, focusing on his hearing in order to face the guest, but with no avail.

Smiling in memory of himself a long time ago, Tonbo knelled to meet Naruto's height and landed his hand on his shoulder.

"And you must be little Naruto, it's nice to meet you I'm Tobitake Tonbo, and you can call me like that if you want to" - Said Tonbo, before seeing the boy smile, before greeting the man in the most friendly way possible.

"Greetings Tonbo-sensei, I'm Sarutobi Naruto" - Smiled Naruto, earning a nod from the bigger blind that was wondering about the name sensei and actually enjoyed it.

"So Tonbo-san, I imagine these books you brought are for young Naruto here?" - Asked the Hokage, earning the man's attention as he nodded and explained that they were written in Braille and their respective subjects. Meanwhile, everyone in the house was impressed at seeing the man 'looking' at the Hokage as he wasn't blind at all and Mikoto wondered if Naruto would learn to be like this as well.

As Tonbo explained the book contents, Mikoto interrupted to say that Naruto needed to eat some breakfast and that he could start the lessons afterwards, to which everyone nodded, before she left with the little blond while holding hands, thus leaving the man inside the living room.

As they gathered, Tonbo began to hear everything he needed to know like the attempts on Naruto's life and Kaito stopping all of them. The man listened and smiled upon knowing that, although Naruto lost his sight, as a result of high exposure of the Kyuubi's chakra it enhanced his other senses, facilitating his work teaching the infant.

After some time passed, the Hokage apologized before saying he must attend to a meeting with the council in order to supervise the village's reconstruction to which everyone nodded and bid the Hokage goodbye. Kakashi and Jiraiya also left, thus leaving Kaito and Tonbo to take a walk along the compound while discussing some aspects.

"So Tonbo-san, I trust that you'll take care of Naruto-kun's training. However, because of what's sealed inside of my son, you must be aware that people wouldn't think twice before invading this compound to kill him. I'll be here protecting him as most as I can, but there will be times when I can't reach Naruto in time to save him and there's where you came in to protect him. I know the only reason why you never passed the Jounin exams and I also know that when it comes to fighting, there aren't many in Konoha that top your skills" - Said Kaito as the two were reaching the main garden.

"Do not worry Kaito-san, I'm well aware of little Naruto's resident and also aware of what fools are capable of doing. I'll protect Naruto like he was my own son, trust me" - Stated Tonbo, earning a smiling nod from Kaito as they suddenly saw a sight and smiled. Naruto appeared out of the kitchen and ran throughout the garden like any other kid his age would do. Kaito was happy that the boy already learned how to walk and even run without falling once as did Tonbo. For a normal person, making a big deal of someone learning to place a foot in front of the other, would be considered a weird thing, bur for a blinded person, it was progress.

"So what do you intend to teach him first?" - Asked Kaito as he was watching his son smiling.

"For us blind shinobi, we need a new guidance system in order to work fully as a shinobi. I intend to teach him about chakra and some chakra related exercises. Afterwards, I'll teach him a technique I created that overcomes one's lack of sight with chakra alone, but it will take a while. I'll also focus on physical exercises once he finishes the chakra part and maybe, if I have more time, teach the low level techniques that he would normally learn at the academy" - Explained Tonbo, earning a nod from Kaito as he saw Naruto fall flat on his butt because he decided to jump all of a sudden.

However, instead of crying his eyes out, the blond infant just laughed and laughed like there was no tomorrow, which in turn made Kaito laugh at the boy's innocence. Turning to walk once more, Kaito moved on to more pressing manners regarding the little infant.

"There is something more you need to know Tonbo-san and that's Naruto's birthday. October 10th is Naruto-kun's birthday, but it's also the date that the population remembers those who perished under the fox's rampage, hence why a few of them decided to invade our property last year. On this date, we Sarutobis make a line around the house to protect Naruto from the sure onslaught. Last time, we managed to capture close to four Chuunin and a couple of Genin" - Said Kaito, earning a nod from Tonbo.

Being blind taught him how to control his anger, but the trouble these fools caused because of their idiocy was enough to set him on edge, even if he didn't show it. After a while, the two men stopped walking and entered the house to see that Naruto was in the living room with his mother while reading out loud for her. The woman couldn't help but be proud of the blond finally being able to read and fully understand the Braille written texts and books.

"Hey Mikoto-chan, it seems little Naruto finally learned how to read, it's amazing" - Smiled Kaito, surprising his wife, since she didn't see him, before smiling and nodding back. She landed her hands on Naruto's shoulder softly and cuddled his hair repeatedly, before giggling at the sound of Naruto demonstrating his enjoyment.

"Mikoto-chan, why not let little Naruto with Tonbo-san here so that he can start his tutoring?" - Said Kaito, before seeing his wife smile and nod.

"Sure thing. Tonbo-san, Naruto-kun is all yours. If you need me for something, I'll be in the kitchen preparing something" - Said Mikoto as Tonbo nodded, before she and her husband went to the kitchen, thus leaving student and sensei alone for the first time.

Tonbo could see that Naruto was facing him and he very well knew that the blond had been training in adjusting his other senses for guidance. _This will be easier than I thought - _thought Tonbo as he approached Naruto who heard the steps coming his way and smiled towards his sensei.

"Hello Tonbo-sensei" - Said Naruto with a smile on his face, despite the green lifeless eyes.

"Hi Naruto, I'll be your sensei and I'll explain to you how we're going to work" - Stated Tonbo, earning a nod from Naruto as the man continued. "I've brought books written in Braille that will explain to you about chakra and chakra control exercises. This knowledge will be vital for a Ninjutsu I plan to teach you. What would you say if I told you that you could use chakra to replace your eyes?" - Asked Tonbo, before wished he had covered his ears.

"Are you serious? That's awesome; I will be able to see!!!" - Shouted Naruto, earning a nod from Tonbo, who considered cleaning his eardrums a little bit afterwards.

"Yes, you will be able to see with the usage of chakra, but first you need to know everything there is to know about it, including several exercises that will help you harness this ability. So let's get to it" - Said Tonbo, to which Naruto nodded enthusiastically, before receiving the first book from his sensei. The content of the book was somewhat familiar with his ji-chan's lectures Naruto heard a couples months back as he was passing his finger through the Braille test and absorbing everything like a sponge.

* * *

**===At the Hokage's office===**

After arriving at his office, Sarutobi Hiruzen went to the mission reports from yesterday. It became a routine to the old man as he read through every single report. From a simple C ranked to the dangerous A ranked missions, he read it all and was surprised with the success rate of Konoha's missions. Out of forty reports he read throughout the morning, twenty eight of them were successful with four non-successful, but no casualties. It saddened the old man to read that a couple of Chuunin lost their lives in the line of duty. Hiruzen didn't care for names or fame, hence that any nameless ninja that died because of the mission set by the Hokage, brought immense pain to his old heart. They were all brave ninja who believed in the will of fire, he thought and he knew that they would be able to rest in peace, knowing that they did their best for the village's prosperity.

The Sandaime Hokage was a kin believer of the term family and he considered all shinobi as a part of a united family against those who wishes harm to innocent people. Immediately, the old Hokage wrote in his agenda to visit their families in order to honor their beloved and offer them his condolences. It was a practice that the Yondaime Hokage started and Sarutobi decided to continue the tradition.

Afterwards, the old man moved on to the pile of mission requests to be handled by shinobi. There were a lot of caravan protection missions and even some individual escort ones, but Hiruzen smiled upon knowing that Konoha's merchants were increasing the village's economy by trading goods with other villages.

He, then, wrote the names of the shinobi he selected for each mission to be carried out, before reaching for his assistance for the briefing to be held. Umino Iruka was just promoted to Chuunin and was nominated as Sarutobi's assistant until he was fit for working at the academy, a dream he shared ever since he graduated as a Genin.

"Iruka, the missions are ready. You can pick them up and pass them to the respective shinobi I picked" - Said Sarutobi, earning a bow in respect from the young Chuunin, before picking up the mission requests and taking them to the mission room.

Not all missions were personally assigned by the Hokage, only high A ranked and S ranked missions, which needed a more detailed explanation in order for the mission to be carried with most excellence.

Hiruzen's day was going well, until someone nodded on his door and entered without his authorization. Uchiha Fugaku changed a lot these last couple of years and the Hokage was wary of this man. On certain council meetings, Fugaku would stay distant and didn't mutter a single word whether protesting or not. The old man wondered what Fugaku needed to talk to him about.

"Greetings Hokage-sama, I hereby wish for an audience with you" - Said Fugaku as he bowed in respect, just like a snake would, before coming from behind and stab him. Hiruzen wasn't considered the 'professor' for nothing and he very well knew that something was wrong, terribly wrong.

"Certainly Fugaku-sama, what is it that you need to speak with me about?" - Asked the Hokage, before seeing the Uchiha stopped bowing and focused eye to eye with the Sandaime Hokage.

"It came to my attention that the Anbu forces have shown interest in my elder son Itachi and I must say it's considered an honor to the Uchiha family for such nomination. I was wondering, though, about what would his position be once in Anbu" - Asked Fugaku.

"Because of his abilities with the Sharingan, Itachi-kun will be better suited for one of Anbu's heavy assault teams. Which team, though, will be chosen by the Anbu Commander. I must say that I'm impressed with your son Fugaku-sama, not many shinobi gets drafted until reaching a considerable age. I'm sure his skills speaks highly of him to warrant such interest." - Said Hiruzen, while expecting the man to show his pride to his prodigy son. However, nothing indicated that Fugaku was proud of his son and Hiruzen was wondering about such behavior inside the Uchiha compound.

"I appreciate the information Hokage-sama and I'll take my leave now" - Said Fugaku before bowing once again and leaving the office. Hiruzen frowned at the man's attitude and immediately called for the Anbu. Within seconds, two of them arrived at the office as they knelled in front of the Hokage, while waiting for their orders.

"Your orders, Hokage-sama?" - Said the one with the hawk mask.

"I'm issuing an S ranked long term mission to you two Hawk-san. I want you to investigate the Uchiha compound and their members for any suspicious activities. This is to remain an Anbu level secret" - Ordered the Sandaime, earning a nod from the one with the hawk mask.

"Certainly Hokage-sama, anything else?" - Asked the Anbu, which earned a nod from Sarutobi.

"You must use discretion in this mission Hawk-san; no one of that clan can know you're investigating them. Focus your efforts on the clan leader Fugaku and the clan council. Call it a hunch of mine, but I suspect some hidden intentions coming from inside that compound" - Said the Hokage, before both nodded and vanished within milliseconds, thus leaving the aged Hokage alone to consider his last set of actions. The Uchiha clan was a force to be recognized and each one of their members contributed greatly to both the Third Shinobi War and the Village's reconstruction after suffering the Kyuubi's rampart.

Nevertheless, something was going on inside the clan walls and being someone as revered by the shinobi as he was, one wouldn't need a full hand to count the number of wrong bets he made as Hokage. He would only have to lead such a path with care, because if by chance, someone gets word of what he was doing, he would be having a major headache while dealing with a mob of enraged Sharingan users on his doorstep. The old man trusted his Anbu force, though, to keep things low while spying on Fugaku on occasions. Sarutobi would even call for his student Jiraiya to speak to him about this manner and see what he can find with the man's spying network.

* * *

**===Six months later===**

After six months of training, young Naruto had come a long way thanks to Tonbo's teachings. The boy grasped the knowledge needed about chakra and even got to master the second chakra control exercise, which was to walk on water using chakra. Tonbo reasoned that tree walking wasn't within Naruto's reach yet simply because he couldn't use Tonbo's technique yet. Also, Tonbo realized that when it came to chakra use, Naruto was a natural. He had high chakra reserves, but by learning several chakra control exercises, the blond managed to use just enough for the technique he was learning. His sensei had a different theory and blamed it on Naruto's blindness. When someone is used to being blind, concepts like fear and anxiety are lost. The boy knew how to do the henge technique and the Kawarimi, by using both his creativity from what he read in books and from his tact as he would pass his hands on a rock in order to feel its shape and density.

Naruto managed the henge, because of a Genjutsu that Tonbo used on him to implant the image of a famous shinobi called Hatake Sakumo and the boy, after a few tries, managed to transform into him, however the green lifeless eyes remained.

The Bunshin jutsu was hard simply because it the least chakra taxing jutsu in the book and Naruto just couldn't use that little chakra, despite his more than average control. Right now, the blond was meditating in order to better control the flow of his chakra while Tonbo, Kaito and Hiruzen watched in fascination. Kaito and Hiruzen were astonished upon seeing the blond's abilities with chakra and the Hokage couldn't help but wonder if Tonbo was that good of a sensei to teach the blond so much.

Upon asking the blind man, Tonbo admitted not having a hard time since Naruto managed to learn a lot by simply reading the books. The techniques were taught by him sure, but the chakra needed for the technique was all Naruto. The Sandaime even reasoned that Naruto's growth was because of whose blood ran through the child's veins and considered the possibility of Naruto surpassing his biological father.

The last requirement Naruto needed to fulfill was Tonbo's technique called **Chakra no Myaku **(Chakra Pulse), which consisted of sending a pulse of chakra from every direction, which would send the images back to Naruto via his other senses. The blond's first attempts were mediocre at best and no image whatsoever was transferred to him. The last, though, Naruto managed to see the outline of Tonbo's body, before the image stopped. The water walking exercise was vital for Naruto to learn the technique, since he had to maintain a constant flow of chakra pulse, just like when he needed to walk on water. Hiruzen turned to Naruto's sensei and proceeded to ask.

"Tonbo-san, how long did it take for you to learn this technique?" - Asked Hiruzen, earning the blind jounin's attention.

"After creating it, I took me close to three months to learn it. Naruto will be close, since he's been trying for over two months now" - Said Tonbo, before Hiruzen turned to look at Naruto. The old hokage couldn't help but be proud of the blond's accomplishment and wished the blond could see his grandfather.

"Naruto, you can stop meditating now. Try the technique once again with the hand seals I taught you" - Said Tonbo, earning a nod from Naruto as he placed his hands together for the technique.

_**Monkey, Tiger....Chakra no Myaku**_

Suddenly, all of them felt the immense chakra wave coming from Naruto and Tonbo smiled since he knew that the boy finally managed to finish the technique.

Naruto for his part was adjusting to this entirely new experience. Just after he finished the technique, the blond had 360 degrees vision around hm. He looked around to see what real nature was and even saw his whole body, which until now, he had never seen. The blond was laughing while looking at his hands in front of him, before he turned around upon hearing his sensei's words.

"Congratulations Naruto, you're now able to see. Tell me what your grandfather look like?" – Asked Tonbo as he saw Naruto adjusting himself to face the old Hokage, before smiling at the old man.

"Ji-chan is really old and wrinkled. What is this sound I'm hearing, it's like the sound of drums" – Said Naruto, confusing the Hokage at first, before he heard Tonbo laughing.

"That happens to be his heart beating Naruto, this technique I've taught you not only makes you see, but also increase you other senses tenfold, hence why you're able to hear Hokage-sama's heartbeat" – Stated Tonbo, earning a nod followed by a smile, before a familiar smell reached Naruto's nose as he fixed his gaze at Kaito, before jumping straight at him while shouting the word Tou-san. Kaito was surprised from hearing this, but extended his arms to receive Naruto, before adjusting his weight so as not to fall on the ground because of the fact that the blond practically threw himself at the man. Kaito ruffled Naruto's hair madly, while praising him for this new ability which earned a smile in return from Naruto.

Yes, the boy was already accustomed to being blind, but like any other child, he carved for their parent's attention and right now only one person wasn't near him and he as hell wouldn't wait another second to show her what he learned.

Just as Tonbo was about to say something, he was cut off when Naruto ran to the main house, screaming for his Kaa-san.

"At ease Tonbo-san, you wouldn't think the boy wouldn't show this to his mother, now would you? If Naruto managed to hear my heart beat, then he will have to close his ears upon hearing my daughter's" – Smiled Hiruzen, before everyone followed suit on the Hokage's joke.

As everyone entered home, they saw Naruto trying to help Mikoto to wake up, but failing miserably since he was only four years old and couldn't do much. He explained, though, that he showed his new skills to Mikoto and that he called her the most beautiful woman in the world, before she fainted right on the spot. His surrogate father Kaito laughed a little and then kneeled to meet Naruto's gaze and smile to the little child who just about now, discovered the world outside and would only grow stronger with time.

* * *

**===A while later at the Hokage's office===**

After leaving the compound, both Tonbo and the Hokage went back to his office, since Naruto over-exerted himself doing the technique over and over again, so he was sleeping. The Hokage, though, wanted to talk to Naruto's sensei on a more personal level. The old man was impressed with the man's abilities to teach Naruto and wondered if he would have the same ability with normal Genins.

"I just wanted to say congratulations, Tonbo-san. Naruto managed in only six months to cover a lot of theory regarding chakra and even learned how to walk on water, an exercise considered to be Chuunin level. I can only wonder how he's going to be on his sixth birthday" – Praised the Hokage, before seeing the man nod in appraisal, before continuing. "Now, tell me what your expectations regarding his training?" – Asked Hiruzen.

"With your permission Hokage-sama, Naruto-kun has some nice skills with the usage of chakra and now that he knows my technique, I can move him to learn tree walking and some physical exercises to build stamina and increase speed. Of course, we'll be training evasion maneuvers and even get him started in one style of Taijutsu for him to have and improve on in the future. I don't believe it's necessary for him to learn more Ninjutsu outside the basics he already knows and the Chakra no Myaku technique. I trust that you approve my schedule, Hokage-sama?" – Asked Tonbo, earning a satisfying smile from the Hokage.

"No, everything is just fine, Tonbo-san. You're right about not teaching Naruto Ninjutsu techniques right now. He should, first, learn how to use your technique without thinking first and also learn how to defend himself. Also, there aren't that much Ninjutsu out there apart from the elemental ones and those who don't fit the category, requires a heavy load of chakra to perform. For now, your agenda will suffice Tonbo-san. I appreciate everything you've done for little Naruto and I hope to meet you again tomorrow at the compound" – Said Hiruzen, as Tonbo bowed in reference before leaving the office.

After hearing the door closing, Sarutobi grabbed his cup of tea and took a zip, before smiling like a teenager. At first, when he learned that Naruto was blind, Sarutobi feared about the boy's future; also when he saw Naruto taking longer time to learn even the simplest tasks that normal children would pick up instantly. However, while he saw that Naruto failed in learning, the boy wouldn't give up and try over and over again, until he managed to learn by using his instinct. Now, Sarutobi's grandson learned how to use chakra to see and the man thanked Kami for his blessing of Naruto.

He turned his chair and looked up to the night before smiling as a star suddenly blinked as if the sky was telling him an important message.

_Somehow, I think it's you, Minato who's watching him over. I can see that it's your blood that runs through his veins…_


	4. Hell's Kitchen

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Hell's Kitchen**

**Beta: Dreetje**

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* * *

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It's been two years since Naruto first learned how to see by using chakra and his overall skills only improved with time. Chakra related exercises were easy for him because of his adaption regarding the Chakra no Myaku Technique, but while the water walking didn't require watching where you going, the tree walking exercise proved to be quite difficult for the little blond. Because of his inability to see properly, Naruto had to use his technique together with focusing chakra on his feet to cling to the tree, hence why a little over two weeks was needed for him to adapt. After that, though, if one were to look for Naruto, they would be able to find him climbing everything from the compound walls to the trees that surround it.

Another focus of his training was taijutsu and physical related exercises to build stamina, endurance and his muscularity. The exercises were very demanding and his surrogate mother even joked that Tonbo was the only person that managed to tire little Naruto; nevertheless in two years, Naruto managed to cover quite a lot of ground with such exercises by using some minor weights to his limbs at all times. Needless to say the blond achieved a level way higher than any child his age would and that filled his surrogate grandfather's heart with pride as he saw Naruto run, dash, jump, dodge every single obstacle placed in the Sarutobi's courtyard with relative ease. The only problem, which was long since taken care of, was which taijutsu style to teach the blond; sure he may be quite young to understand the importance of having a style, but as a Sarutobi, he would need to follow their tradition hence why his father was assigned to teach him the **Saruken** (Monkey Fist) style of fighting.

At first, Kaito displayed serious doubts about teaching his son this style, seeing as he lacked the necessary agility and flexibility in order to perform the katas, but Hiruzen was adamant about having some patience with Naruto, since just like everything else in the past, he would manage to learn through hard-work and concentration. In the end, old Sarutobi was right as Naruto did manage to understand how the Saruken is supposed to be handled. By aiming fast sequences of low kicks and well aimed punches, the Saruken focused on overwhelming the enemy, before landing one last powerful attack, thus winning the battle.

Of course, it wouldn't be possible for Naruto to learn the monkey style in two years, but he was taught the basic principles of the style with a couple of Braille written books to help him understand the basic katas as well as create some new ones in the future. One special attribute of the Monkey style is its versatility; it's not as strict as the jyuuken, relying on the user's creativity and surprising the enemy with it.

Outside his training regimen, his chakra technique granted him a scanned vision of Konoha and so, he managed to look at people as his mother would take him to take a walk. Whereas first he would be happy to able to see, he now wished he didn't. Every time he was on the streets, he would see people looking at him with disdain and hatred but for reasons he didn't know. Upon asking his grandfather once, he saw some hesitation on the man and his heart was beating faster than before, like he was trying to cover the real and ugly truth.

How did Naruto learn to see these things? Well, after Naruto learned the chakra technique, Tonbo used two months to adapt the boy into further improving his other senses. He would often use the sound of a travelling kunai or shuriken to teach Naruto how to use his hearing in order to learn their trajectory by listening to the major shifts in the air the projectile makes. And also, a better understanding of the human personality by listening to the beating of their heart and what it tells you. For instance, if the heart beats faster, it means either high emotion or a sense of insecurity and even doubt. Basically, Naruto became a human polygraph. Therefore, upon hearing the sudden difference in heart beat coming from his grandfather, he somehow knew that the old man was not telling the truth to him.

Being a kid, though, he didn't pressure the issue further and worried his mind with something else. He found a new hobby by focusing chakra to his ears and nose in order to have a better grasp of the nature in the compound's back yard. He could hear the distinguishing and relaxing sound of the river near the compound; he could feel the gentle wind blowing in his face and body and even smell the different aromas of his mother's garden.

Speaking of Mikoto, a couple months ago, she attended at the hospital to take a better look at her condition which prevented her from having a baby and almost fainted when the head doctor told her of a cure that was found by a doctor in Lightning Country and that after a minor surgery, she would be able to be pregnant.

Upon telling the great news at home, Kaito smiled as did Hiruzen, not by the news itself but what it did to make Mikoto so happy. It was actually when Naruto heard it that he gave them a fantastic idea.

"Okaasan, does that mean I'll have a little brother or sister?" – Asked Naruto, before seeing that Mikoto and Kaito looked at each other before both heart beats increased, but this time Naruto knew the reason.

And what you know? The surgery was a success and a month later, Mikoto appeared with a positive pregnancy test. The family was overjoyed with the news of a new member joining in nine months and Naruto couldn't wait to be with his otouto.

Now, six years old Naruto was having fun in the backyard of his house while the grownups discussed his growth.

Tonbo, Hiruzen and Kaito were discussing the blond's improvement in the many ninja arts and Hiruzen appraised Tonbo for his skills in teaching.

"Well Tonbo-san, once more you went beyond my expectancies regarding Naruto's training. I have a lot of confidence in his future now because of your training" – Smiled Hiruzen, earning a nod from Kaito as he too thanked the blind jounin on number of occasions.

"Nonsense Hokage-sama, what I did was merely teaching him the Chakra no Myaku Technique and point him in a few directions here and then. Naruto indeed learns better on his own after first learning the theory; I can guarantee that he will become a strong shinobi in the future" – Said Tonbo, earning a smile from the Hokage who now considered Naruto's training an admission test into becoming a jounin-sensei for genins.

"Well, then, since you managed to train Naruto like you did, I will grant your wish Tonbo-san, as of tomorrow, a new crop of genins will graduate and I'm placing you as a jounin-sensei for one of them" – Ordered Hiruzen, before seeing Tonbo bow in respect to the old man. Actually, the blind jounin was finding hard to contain his joy at being granted a team of genins. Teaching Naruto and seeing how much the blond learned under his care kind of filled his heart with pride and he knew he could do a good job with the new genins.

"Thank you Hokage-sama, I shall not disappoint you" – Said Tonbo.

"Nonsense my friend, if what you did to Naruto is any indication, then you'll do wonders for the new genins. Report to my office tomorrow to choose your team" – Ordered Hiruzen, earning a nod from Tonbo, before he vanished from the house and appeared at the garden where he knew the blond would be, thus leaving Kaito and Hiruzen alone to discuss another issue regarding Naruto. There's another aspect of the fact that new academy students will graduate and the fact that a new crops of students will join the academy, so they were discussing the possibility of little Naruto attending the academy in order to socialize with children his age. Of course, that was easier said than done, since no matter how much the blond was accustomed to his lack of sight, the chances of Naruto being bullied because of this was indeed high.

However, while such a fact remained, also the academy was Naruto's final test to lead a normal life despite his blindness. Knowing how to socialize, how to deal with those who only wish him harm, amongst other issues were and still are considered vital for a child to grow into a respectful adult. So, even though Naruto may have his respective hardships in life, both father and grandfather were confident in his abilities when dealing with whatever appears in front of him.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

Naruto was feeling nature around him where the sound of leaves suddenly converging to a particular place alerted him to a new presence. Now, by instinct alone, Naruto activated the Chakra no Myaku Technique and saw the shape of his sensei behind him with his arms crossed and a smile could be seen. Naruto smiled in return, before getting up and turning to face the blind jounin, even though it didn't matter much, seeing that his chakra technique granted him an all direction vision.

"I see you grew accustomed to the technique Naruto-kun, that's good" – Said Tonbo, earning an energetic nod from Naruto.

"Hehehe thanks Tonbo-sensei. So, what will we be learning today? A new jutsu perhaps?" – Asked Naruto, before seeing Tonbo laugh at the boy's growing enthusiasm, however his face soon turned to a serious demeanor as the news he was about to give may be a little too much for the boy to handle at the moment. He damn well know that once a blind person gets accustomed to a certain someone, it's hard to hear that said person won't be able to be with him anymore, but just like time, one must move on and Naruto needs to experience new things.

"Not today Naruto-kun; sorry. In fact, I came here to say that there isn't much for me to train you that you couldn't accomplish on your own in time or either by a much more skilled sensei than me. My goal was to tutor you in how to overcome your blindness and train you in the basic ways of a shinobi, from here on out, you'll be learning new things, possibly from another jounin or at the ninja academy" – Said Tonbo, right before his heart felt for the blond the minute he saw the sad look on Naruto's face at the revelation.

"You're leaving Tonbo-sensei, why? I thought we had a great time together" – Said Naruto on the verge of crying, but he was surprised to see Tonbo in front of him, while kneeling to meet Naruto's level, before caressing the blond's head.

"Of course, our time together was great Naruto-kun and I'm immensely proud of your achievements. However, as a jounin of this village, it will be needed of me to perform duties for Konoha. Also, you're growing as well, Naruto. There will be the time when you earn your hitai-ate and become a genin together with those your age and, then, chunnin and so forward. We have to be on constant movement, in order to perceive the bigger number of life experiences as possible. I'm not saying that I'll be gone forever, we are no longer sensei and student, but we will forever be friends as we share the same burden Naruto. Every time you are in need to either talk or train, you can always come to me, okay?" – Explained Tonbo, thus managing to control Naruto's tears as the blond displayed a smile in appraisal. "Now Naruto, seeing as this is our last day as sensei and student, how about we go for one of our travels throughout the village's buildings. You always said that it was like your own playground, isn't it? – Smiled Tonbo as he saw the blond's happy expression.

Suddenly, both student and teacher began running with speed towards the compound's highest structure, before jumping straight at the wall and using chakra to climb to the roof. Instantly, Naruto activated the technique and he saw the vicinity and a near building to his northeast, before he did a barrel-roll towards it, thus landing perfectly before continuing to run towards the next set of buildings. Quickly focusing chakra to his feet, Naruto jumped high into the air passing two buildings, before seeing a pipe that would go all the way down to the ground as he climbed on to it and sliding all the way down as he somersaulted to the air using his hands to grab a pole before flipping a couple times and then throwing himself in the air once more towards the next set of building, before landing on one. He looked at Tonbo and then began to display a genuine smile. Another hobby he had was to treat Konoha like his own playground; jumping through rooftops, sliding through pipes and using poles to somersault to the air. He first learned about this after learning the tree exercise and both Kaito and Tonbo had to chase him all over Konoha only to catch him on top of a building with a face that stopped any of them from berating Naruto for what he did.

"Grow strong Naruto; I'll enjoy seeing the shocked look of everyone upon seeing what you'll be able to accomplish in the future" – Said Tonbo, earning a nod from Naruto as he suddenly engulfed Tonbo in a hug.

"Thank you so much Tonbo-sensei; I'm forever grateful" – Smiled Naruto, which earned one from Tonbo as well.

* * *

**===At the Sarutobi Compound===**

After arriving from work, Hiruzen turned to his relaxing chair for comfort while smoking his pipe. He had to smile at the memory of enlisting Naruto at the academy next year. He also made sure to send some of the school material to be written in Braille so that Naruto can fully grasp everything taught at the academy. What feared him, though, was the chunnin teacher responsible for Naruto's education. Umino Iruka has just acquired his authorization to work at the academy and Naruto's class will be his first one. The problem was because of the fact that Naruto harbored the very reason why Iruka's parents were killed and the Hokage feared that his hatred would not succumb to his desire to teach.

Perhaps a previous conversation was in order just to settle a few things. Hiruzen wasn't planning to convince Iruka to let go of his hatred towards the Kyuubi, but rather tell him to treat Naruto just like any other student. Focusing on other aspects, Hiruzen remembered that this next crop of academy students happened to be the one with offspring of all the major clans of Konoha; Yamanaka, Nara, Hyuuga, Uchiha, Akimichi, Inuzuka, Aburame and now Sarutobi as well would have their respective representatives at the academy. Also, the Hokage had high hopes for this new crop because of what the respective fathers and mothers were able to do for Konoha. He knew from the Nara clan, that Shikamaru was showing signs of inheriting his father's brains, but also his father's lack of enthusiasm, which earned a chuckle from Hiruzen.

Others like Yamanaka Ino, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata and Akimichi Chouji displayed the very intention of following their respective father's footsteps and no doubt will continue the respective clan's tradition, thus protecting the village possibly better than their fathers. Now, Naruto will join this group of gifted individuals who in time will grow to become the next guardians of this village.

Also Uchiha Sasuke, Fugaku's second son would join as well this year and if he follows the same path of his brother then another prodigy would join the village ranks soon. Speaking of the Uchiha Clan, Hiruzen couldn't help but fear that something would happen inside those walls. The Anbu couldn't discover much about any possible ill intentions regarding the village, but the Hokage figured it was just a matter of time if his instinct doesn't fail on him and so far, it never did.

Suddenly hearing footsteps coming from the stairs, Hiruzen saw his lovely daughter. She was rubbing her belly as in a motherly desire to protect her soon to be second son.

"Hello father, I see you're quite happy today, what happened if I may know?" – Asked Mikoto as she seated on the couch in front of her father's chair.

"Oh, my lovely daughter, the reason is because I just enrolled Naruto-kun at the academy next year. He will be able to socialize with other kids his age and if possible even befriend one or two" – Said Hiruzen, earning a nod from Mikoto.

"That's wonderful news Otousan, you know since Kaito-kun told me about it, I was having some doubts, but that was because of his disability to see before. Now, though, with Tonbo's help, Naruto-kun managed to overcome the blindness. I only hope no one bullies him because of it, you know. Kids can be very mean when they want to be. What about the teacher, is he okay with our Naruto?" – Asked Mikoto, also aware of the fact that her eldest son is not exactly liked by the generation population because of what he carries inside of him.

"Umino Iruka is a skilled ninja and I have no doubt he is a skilled teacher, I just have to talk to him about Naruto, seeing as what happened to Iruka's parents because of the fox. Don't worry, though, my dear Mikoto, Naruto will be in safe hands, that I promise" – Said Hiruzen, earning a nod from Mikoto, who in turn offered her father a cup of tea, since she was about to make some. Then, once more, Hiruzen was alone in the living room, but not long before he saw the bundle of joy that is his grandson literally sliding down of the stair rail, before landing right next to the Hokage.

"Wow, where's the fire Naruto-kun? Sometimes, I even forget that you can't use your eyes. I can see Tonbo's technique did wonders huh?" – Smiled Hiruzen to which Naruto nodded, even though the boy wasn't exactly facing others while talking yet like Tonbo does, probably because no one ever told him to do so, but in time, he would learn.

"Well, Ji-chan, I kind of overheard your conversation about the academy thing I'm going to next year and I'm really excited. Just you wait, I'll be the best ninja ever and prove to everyone that just because I'm blind that does not mean I can't become a ninja" – Said Naruto, before seeing with the technique that his grandfather was smiling and nodding his head as in concurring with his assessment. After two years of training with the Chakra no Myaku technique, activating it was almost like second nature to the blond, to the point where he would use it pretty much all the time, well except when he was reading seeing as the technique couldn't read kanji, but other than that, Naruto no longer needed to worry about it. Suddenly, a new person entered Naruto's field of sight and he turned to greet his lovely and beautiful mother with a captivating smile that would send any woman to madness in how cute he was, even though his lifeless green eyes were still visible.

"Naruto-kun, go wash your hands because dinner will soon be ready" – Said Mikoto, before seeing Naruto nod and walk towards the bathroom to wash up.

Dinner was uneventful with the exception of Naruto displaying his uncontrollable enthusiasm, before receiving congratulation words coming from both his parents and uncle as well as sharing some stories about their time at the academy. Naruto had a good time especially when he heard his uncle Asuma recall an event when he used to chase a now senior chunnin called Kurenai and she would just blow him off all the time. After dinner, everyone went to their respected rooms to rest for the night, leaving Kaito, Hiruzen and Asuma alone in the living room to discuss some issues.

"Otousan, are you sure it's wise to send Naruto-kun to the academy unsupervised? As I recall, the chunnin teachers are young enough to show resentment towards Naruto for that event in particular" – Asked Asuma, before seeing a sigh escape the elder Hokage's features. He appreciated his son for not openly say the name Kyuubi inside the house, since he fairly knew that because of the blond's hearing ability, he could hear everything.

"I understand Asuma-kun and I've taken into consideration the fact that the teachers still resent him for what happened; however Naruto choose to become a ninja of Konoha and as such, he'll have to learn how to work with a team under a jounin-sensei in the future, so it's important that he develops at least a decent level of social skills. Who knows, maybe he can find a group of friends that enjoy spending time with him; after all, until now Naruto had zero contact with people his age" – Explained Hiruzen, earning a nod from Asuma, before he continued. "Nevertheless, your concern is duly noted Asuma-kun as I happen to share it with you; tomorrow I'll have a conversation with one of the teachers".

* * *

**===the next day===**

After waking up, Iruka went to the bathroom with a smile from ear to ear. His dream was to become a teacher at the academy since he even became a genin and got selected by the Hokage to help him with the mission documentation. The feeling of being the one responsible to train each generation of shinobi was really appealing and he just couldn't wait to begin. Especially, next year, when children from the most respectable and honored clans of Konoha will attend and the scarred chunnin could already envision them in the future, growing up to surpass their respective father and mothers who became legends in their own right.

Suddenly, a knock was heard at the door and he opened only to reveal an Anbu telling him to meet the Hokage in his office in half an hour. After accepting the message, Iruka closed the door and once again smiled in anticipation of what the Hokage wanted to discuss with him, probably some guidelines and special orientations for each respective clan member that would attend the academy next year.

In a couple of minutes, Iruka was already zipping up his vest and leaving his rather small but cozy apartment towards the Hokage's office where he would be officially appointed as next year's chunnin teacher at the academy. The man was so eager to hear what the Hokage wanted to say that he quickly jumped through buildings, thus arriving at the Hokage's office in little over two minutes, before knocking on the door.

After receiving the authorization to enter, Iruka smiled and opened the door.

"Good morning Hokage-sama; you wished to see me?" – Asked Iruka after making only his head visible for the kage.

"Oh Iruka-kun, please enter and make yourself comfortable, I wanted to, first, congratulate you regarding the teacher's position. I know it's been your dream to fill this roll for the village and I can see from your smile, that you're rather enthused" – Smiled Hiruzen, earning a nod from Iruka.

"I appreciate it Hokage-sama, indeed it's been a dream of mine in order to teach this new generation and the future ones as well. May I ask, Hokage-sama, who was nominated for this year along with me?" – Asked Iruka, before seeing as the Hokage grabbed a gray book.

"Well, your old teammate Touji Mizuki was as well, but he's in a long-term mission for the moment, so he'll join you six months from now. Until then, Funeno Daikoku will be his substitute" – Answered the Hokage, earning a nod from Iruka.

_**(AN: In case you don't know who Daikoku is, he was the academy instructor to whom Uchiha Fugaku talked to on Sasuke's first day at the academy)**_

"Okay then Hokage-sama, do you wish to discuss another manner or…?" – Asked Iruka, but stopped once he saw that the Hokage was about to speak.

"Yes, there is still one matter of utmost importance and I'm afraid It cannot hold, Iruka-kun" – Said Hiruzen as Iruka nodded, meanwhile somewhat worried about the sudden serious visage of the normally kind Hokage.

* * *

**===Time skip – First day at the Academy===**

After the alarm alerted him to the time, Naruto literally flipped off from his bed and landed safely on the floor. He went to do his normal routine which by the way didn't even require the technique usage since he was already accustomed to the whole procedure. Nevertheless, unlike every routine, Naruto went through everything with a broad smile on his face. What caused him to smile was that today was to be his first day at the academy and he would have the opportunity to meet people his age. Indeed, growing up with his family was wonderful and he thanked the heavens that they took care of him and gave him comfort, but the blond found that he lacked in any social interaction with those of his age. That was why almost an hour and a half befor the academy was to start, Naruto was already pestering his mother for his breakfast. Mikoto, though, smiled at the blond's enthusiasm and made an omelet a la Naruto with two eggs, ham, tomato and some cheese accompanied by some warm milk and some orange juice.

In little over ten minutes, Naruto ingested everything and left the house, but not after taking his lunch from his mother, of course. Because of the early schedule, Konoha was pretty much empty save for the shop keepers who were looking at the clocks to open their business and a couple of people who just enjoyed waking up early. Immediately jumping towards the next set of building, Naruto activated his technique and immediately scanned images were being transmitted by chakra as he performed some acrobatic movements on top of the buildings, rails, pipes, wherever he felt like, because Konoha was just a big playground to the kid.

He didn't take long to arrive at the academy building before entering and looking to his left to see a paper with what appeared to be kanji written. Frowning in frustration, Naruto grabbed his backpack that contained his Braille-written books and a separate sheet of paper that contained instructions for him to follow towards his class's location. After two set of stairs and a couple of doors to the right, he stopped in front of the third, before opening the door. The room was empty as expected since the blond arrived an hour early. Noticing that he could pick any of the desks available, he decided to pick the one on the second row, being the second desk on the right side.

After seating, he placed his material on top of the desk and patiently waited for either the teacher of another student.

Suddenly, the door opened and a person with a chunnin vest entered, before heading straight for the board to write something. Although Naruto couldn't read with his technique, Tonbo and Mikoto managed to teach him how to use together his advanced hearing and his seeing technique in order to know what the teacher was writing. The advanced hearing served to hear the sound the chalk makes and the seeing technique was to follow the teacher's hand, hence how Naruto understood the man's name; Umino Iruka. The sound of Naruto's grin alerted Iruka of his presence and the teacher turned to avert his gaze at the sudden and strangely quiet presence. However, it didn't take him more than one second to change from a cheerful expression to that of a man trying his best to remain neutral, but failing miserably. Instantly, memories of his conversation with the Hokage appeared.

**Flashback on**

"_Iruka-kun, next year the majority of the clans will be sending their offspring to attend the academy, so you understand this class importance?" – Asked Sarutobi, before Iruka nodded and the old man continued. "Well, my grandson will also be attending next year and he's the major reason of me calling you here, Iruka; his name is Sarutobi Naruto and by your shocked face, I can see you already know who he is " – Said Sarutobi, before seeing the once surprised look turn into one of pure hatred, similar to those shown by the general population._

"_Iruka, I understand you hold resentment to what happened to your parents because of the fox and normally, I would focus my strength in convincing of the fact that Naruto and the Kyuubi are different beings, although they share the same body, but I won't. Please bear in mind that this is not only an order from the Hokage but also a request from an old friend. You were appointed for the job as teacher at the academy and you're supposed to treat each student equally; then treat Naruto just like any one of the students you have under your charge" – Said Hiruzen, before seeing Iruka frowning his features at such a request. _

"_With all due respect Hokage-sama, that fox killed my family and left me to grow up alone. I just can't look at your grandson and forget that he harbors the very creature responsible for my misery" – Said Iruka, before seeing a sigh escape Sarutobi's lips. _

"_I see; like I said I won't force you to acknowledge that Naruto is not the Kyuubi and vice-versa, however taken into account your answer, I'm afraid I'll have to issue an order to you Iruka-kun not to treat Naruto any different than you treat the other students" – Ordered Hiruzen, earning a nod in understanding from the scarred chunnin, before he got up and left the room, but not after requesting for dismissal by the Hokage which was granted._

**Flashback off**

Just by looking at him brought back the pain he felt throughout his life growing up. Iruka didn't even take into consideration, though, that his eyes betrayed every bit of neutral treatment. And so, he was quite surprised when the blond spoke.

"I can see that your eyes are similar to everyone in the village" – Said Naruto while looking down while questioning why the hell do people look at him like that. Iruka, though, was taken by surprise at how his emotions betrayed both his profession as a shinobi and a direct order by the Hokage.

"Excuse me, why do you say that?" – Asked Iruka.

"That old look of hatred I've seen people giving me for the past two years of my life. Every time I go out on the street, I see those eyes filled with negative emotions like hatred and malice and I can very well feel it's directed at me. They don't even pretend to disguise it and you don't as well" – Said Naruto as he continued to look down in clear sadness. Iruka to his part looked intently and noticed the kyuubi container's eyes. They were green eyes and devoted of that usual innocence every child possess. Immediately, Iruka was somewhat filled with a sad feeling. Even though the scarred chunnin still harbored unconditional level of hatred over the Kyuubi, he couldn't help but feel rather unnerved by those lifeless eyes.

The scarred chunnin was surprised when the ball rang and the rest of the students barged in the classroom, before seeing some of them pick up seats. He turned and went to his table, but Naruto's eyes will be forever kept in his mind as a reminder of the possible fact that an innocent infant was drawn on this mess without so much as having a choice in the manner.


	5. Unexpected Feelings

_AN: First of all, I have to give it to Kishimoto. The man has a way of saying everything and yet saying nothing at all. Manga 470 could have just the fight with Kisame and Killer Bee and exclude the interaction between Naruto and Sakura. As usual, Sakura only screamed a few in comprehensive words and then left Naruto. Nothing was explained as to why she would go all the trouble of going to Iron Country to assume her feelings for Naruto. _

_Also, I've created a poll about a different affinity for Naruto, regarding either Light or Dark Chakra. Also depending on what the readers chose, it would change his personality. And the results were devastating for Light Chakra with only 3 votes compared to 17 votes for Dark Chakra. Creating a dark Naruto was somewhat difficult at first, because in all my stories, all i did was place a strong-willed Naruto, who never succumbed to its dark urges. _

_Now this will be totally different. However, the blond won't go as far as to kill everyone on sight who treated him wrong in the past, just, from his chapter forward, teach the attackers a lesson to never mess with him again. It certainly was much easier to write about a dark Naruto than i thought; here is chapter 5 of Meshii._

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Unexpected feelings**

**Beta: Dreetje**

* * *

Two years had passed ever since Naruto's first day at the academy and things were heading for a much darker course than anyone who knew the blond could've anticipated. Sure, it was a fear everyone shared when Naruto first learned how to see using chakra, but his family couldn't anticipate the level of hatred displayed by the villagers directly at the once blond bundle of joy. His teacher Umino Iruka settled down somewhat and managed to treat Naruto just like any other less important student among the classroom, even though the blond's grades placed him on the clan heir's level. However, the rest of the village would just look at him with death glares, filled with hatred that even Mikoto had the urge to run away from fear of her life being taken just by standing next to Naruto.

At that specific date, October 10th, mother and son went to the market near the Sarutobi Compound to purchase some milk and baby food for little Konohamaru who was born a year ago. Mikoto, at the time, figured that the date itself was the cause for people's hatred, but after consulting with her father, she was proven wrong. It was every day, when she would pick Naruto at school sometimes to surprise him, she could very well see the parents glaring daggers at the boy, more like glaring at what the boy housed inside him, without his knowledge. Everywhere he went, people would look at him the same way and it was starting to affect Naruto's personality. Whereas before he couldn't wait to go outside and travel throughout the big village, now he was dreading it every day. The technique Chakra no Myaku was, at first, a gift from the heavens. Now, though, Naruto wished he'd never learn this damn technique. Everywhere he went, he could sense the people's feelings towards him and all of them were pretty much the same feeling of loathing and even a few with enough killing intent that would send a child his age to run for dear life.

Speaking of killing intents and since the boy wasn't restricted inside the Sarutobi Manor any more, he was wide open for attacks and no one was there to protect him. However, they were soon stopped by a lone Anbu member with a weasel mask that always protected Naruto, no matter what happened. One time, though, the Anbu wasn't there and Naruto was all by himself returning from the academy at night. He was a few kilometers away from his house, when it happened. Four shinobis, at least what the boy could see from the Konoha headbands on their foreheads, came and brutally attacked his body with kicks, punches and even low-level Katon jutsus that meant to severely burn his limbs. Naruto was, only found, the next day by his surrogate father who was looking for the blond nonstop since the day before.

_**(AN: For those who were wondering about where Itachi was this time, try remembering a little about what happened in canon and you'll figure out)**_

Since the attack happened, the blond created a distance from his family, meaning the only ones who, according to the boy, still loved him. He would on occasions hide up in a tree on the back of the Sarutobi Compound from fear of seeing those looks once more. He couldn't understand, though, why this was happening; why everyone loathed him like some sort of pariah; why people would even go as far as hurt him for it? All these questions plagued in his mind and he even voiced it to his grandfather, but once more Hiruzen tried to dissuade the question. However, whereas before Naruto would change thoughts quickly like any kid would, now his heart ached from being left in the dark regarding this specific manner. Today he was supposed to go to the academy in about half an hour, but because of everything that happened, the blond was afraid of leaving the secure household and show his face outside.

Inside the house and looking with saddened eyes, Mikoto couldn't believe this was happening with her little Naruto. To think that someone as happy and energetic as her son could become like this was unnerving to the beautiful woman and she once demanded some answers from her father, only to receive the same answer that the old man believed that Konoha would change once they saw the real Naruto. However, in spite the old man's good heart, and in Asuma's opinion, foolish, the little boy's personality was slowly drifting and all of this was because of those ignorant fools who couldn't see past the damn fox even after nine years. She, then, felt a heavy hand on her shoulders, before she turned and saw her husband's solemn face staring at the tree where he knew little Naruto would be hiding.

"Oh Kaito-kun, what can we do? If this keeps going, I fear for my boy's life. No boy his age should deal with the burden of an entire village; I fear that he will snap in time and be devoted of that smile that seemed to brighten the entire room" – Whispered Mikoto as she landed her face on her husband's chest and started crying uncontrollably. Kaito quickly embraced his wife into a comforting hug and began massaging her hair while whispering some comforting words.

"I share your fear Mikoto-chan; I really do. He is only nine; the amount of people looking at him is enough to make even me uncomfortable. I fear that by the end of the academy, if not sooner, our boy's mind won't be able to cope with such hatred" – Said Kaito, earning a nod from the woman, who, then, left the embrace and wiped off some of the tears that started falling from her eyes. She was afraid of this also; that it would be much for him to handle and his mind and heart becomes shut for any outside experience that could harm, as a sort of body defense mechanism.

Back to Naruto, his technique allowed him scenes of his parents talking. He could feel what they fell, though. Both of them were presenting fear, but for what? Were they just like the others who looked at him? No, the blond hit himself in the head not allowing for this particular thought to wander any forward. They are his family, they are the only ones that don't look at him as if he was some sort of monster and no matter what happened, Naruto smiled upon knowing that he could always depend on his family for guidance. Gaining a sudden confidence, Naruto got out of the tree and grabbed his bag before leaving the house with conviction written on his face. The blond, then, proceeded through the same path he always did in order to avoid the onlookers on the streets. He would jump through rooftops, focusing more on chakra control so as not to utter a single sound, thus travel without anyone noticing him. The blond even went as much as conceal it, since a couple of shinobis were heading his way and the boy wouldn't even allow people to catch him unguarded, not anymore.

As the blond watched the shinobis leaving, he was wondering about the future that leads before him. He was still unaware of why people treated him the way they did, but one thing he was certain about. He wouldn't let anyone step on him anymore, he didn't do anything to deserve according to his recollection, so no one has the right to treat him like this. From now on, the blond would expand his chakra senses in order to never get caught by surprise. Just minutes before Naruto was caught at the time, he managed to feel their chakra capacity and concluded it to be nowhere near either his father or his sensei, so they couldn't be stronger than a genin level ninja. He wasn't sure if he could beat any of them, but he could damn well escape them by using his agility and his ability in traveling throughout the village's hidden places to arrive at his house. A few minutes later, Naruto was already in front of the academy where his senses spotted a great number of students roaming around, talking with one another.

As he slowly walked towards the entrance, his sensitive ears caught some whispers.

* * *

_There he goes again, father told me to stay away from him, he's a bad influence, and you should too..._

_Yeah, my mother told me about the atrocious acts of the Kyuu..._

_Shhh, we can't talk about it, remember. He sure Is unnerving, and those eyes just creeps the hell out of me..._

* * *

The boy remained neutral this time, but he could hear everything. One word though, kept playing in his mind.

_Kyuu..._

That name was familiar, Naruto remembered. He was searching his mind for anything he learned in history lessons that began with these syllables. Suddenly, though, the name appeared on his mind. Kyuubi no Yoko, he remembered, was the demon fox that terrorized the village nine years ago and was defeated by the Yondaime Hokage at the cost of his life. But why would those girls talk about the Kyuubi when looking at him. This was the key question and the boy was now on the league here, he could feel it he was getting closer to the truth and now he wouldn't rest until the secret that everyone kept from him was revealed.

Once inside the classroom, he looked at those that already arrived. As usual, the Nara clan heir was sleeping on his desk and the Akimichi heir was eating the usual bag of chips. The sound of barking came to him as well as the image of Kiba playing with his dog, generated by chakra. The usual bickering both Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura for the Uchiha was a common occurrence in classroom, hence why Naruto chose the place where no one would bother him; next to a sleeping Shikamaru.

The blond was already accustomed to having no friends whatsoever. None of his classmates wanted to socialize with him, even going as much as verbalizing the same talk...that their respective parents told them not to be around him. Naruto took it hard the first time, since he wanted nothing more than to socialize with children his age; however after a while, he got used to it and remained quiet the entire class just focusing on the teacher's lectures and practice exercises. Shikamaru as well as Aburame Shino were the only two who, different from the others, just didn't do anything to him.

When the teachers entered, Naruto managed to visualize Umino Iruka entering the classroom followed by Naruto's most loathed individual Touji Mizuki. If Naruto could point out the one person he actually hated it was this man. The hateful glares, he could take and was already used to, but having to dispel a great number of Genjutsu on his tests was just plain ridiculous. One of the advantages of Naruto's technique was that he could see both the illusion image and the real one, so he didn't have much trouble in dispelling.

Nonetheless, the man did everything he could think of to make the blond fail at the academy. Even in practice exercises, he would use advanced Taijutsu katas against Naruto so that he would fail. However, the Saruken allowed some improvised moves, hence why Naruto always managed to dodge Mizuki's attacks, much to the man's chagrin. As the class settled down, each of them received from Mizuki the final test of the year, which was obligatory for advancing to the next year. And as usual, Naruto got a much harder test than the others.

Questions like shuriken trajectory, history questions about subjects he was still due to learn next year. And just like every time, Naruto would raise his hand and ask for a different test since he got the wrong test. Iruka, then, came and checked the questions with a scowl on his face. This was starting to become annoying, the teacher thought. For some reason, Naruto always got a different test than the others and, strangely enough, he always saw Mizuki with a not so pleased look.

"Sorry Naruto, here is the right one" - Said Iruka, as he placed the real exam for the blond to read.

* * *

**===The Hokage's office===**

Smoking patiently his pipe, Sarutobi Hiruzen was considering the last couple of month and the tragic event of the Uchiha Massacre. The man couldn't help but frown in dismay from not figuring this out earlier; the Anbu mission investigation came up with nothing that could imply what happened. Now, because of the act of one of his best Anbu members, the entire clan was vanished, save for little Uchiha Sasuke. Just remembering how much the Sharingan helped to protect the village all those years was enough to make Sarutobi nervous.

He never enjoyed depending too much on bloodlines, but no one could question the doujutsu's efficiency in battle. Now, though, the most powerful ninja in Konoha would have to adapt his forces without taking the doujutsu into consideration. No problem, though, he reasoned. The shock of those lost was way more important than Sarutobi's little predicament right now.

Putting that thought aside for the moment, he picked his all-seeing ball and focused chakra on it. Suddenly, the image of his surrogate grandson appeared taking the academy test. He could see the blond passing his finger through the Braille text, before answering the respective question with ease. Sarutobi had the urge to smile since Naruto loved reading since he was a little kid and the village history was his favorite subject.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

After a while, Naruto got up and handled the test for Iruka. He needed to give to Mizuki, but instead, he gave it to Iruka. He, then, left the academy and went straight to his house where he would find his history book written on braille. Once more, he jumped towards the next rooftop and proceeded this way towards his household. Occasionally, he would hide behind one large tower upon sensing two high level chakra shinobis passing nearby.

Afterwards, he continued his trip towards his home, before running up to his room and closing the door. He thanked someone up there because the house was empty, before he took the book and started reading. He, in short time, found the passage about the Kyuubi and started reading with enough attention in order to avoid passing through some vital information.

He passed through the fox's description and who was responsible for the fox's defeat, since he wouldn't find anything here. As he passed the fingers through the braille text, the blond suddenly stopped once he got information regarding the date of the fox's defeat.

October 10th.

It was the same date that he was born and the same date that he would have to double his chakra sensory ability because of so much people openly glaring at him. What sort of connection does he possess with the Kyuubi no Yoko and why he was born the exact time of the fox's defeat? As more Naruto read about it, more questions came to his mind.

People, often, would call him demon, but he couldn't be it? Could he... He didn't recall doing anything of what he heard through whispers and certainly, the boy wouldn't be able to level the entire village. He kept wondering about it the whole day and it was now night time inside the Sarutobi Compound. Everyone knew Naruto was in his room but they decided to give the boy some time to cope with his everyday life.

Suddenly, his door opened and the boy left the room. He needed to cry, he wanted to cry, but he knew his eyes were devoted of tears; he wanted to shout to everyone about what he concluded, but he maintained steady as he approached his grandfather.

"Jichan...." - Said Naruto with a sad voice that alerted everyone's attention, until he finally let it out. "Am I a demon?" - Asked the boy, before he sensed everyone's feelings of surprise and shock, meaning it was the truth.

"Naruto-kun, why are you asking this sort of thing? You're nothing different from any of us and you're certainly not a demon, you hear me?" - Asked Sarutobi and Naruto could detect a certain level of insecurity on his grandfather's voice.

"Everywhere I go, people stare at me like they want to kill me and even this one time, I would have if father didn't come and saved me. When I go to school, one girl started whispering the name Kyuu...but was stopped by another girl who said it was forbidden to talk about it" - Explained Naruto, while Hiruzen's eyes were widening each minute and his heart was slowly increasing its beat, showing the boy that he was getting somewhat closer to the ugly truth. "I came home and started reading about the fox, only to find out that it was dead the day I was born. I can't help but link all this information Jichan. Am I really the fox demon that attacked the village nine years ago?" - Asked Naruto, before waiting for an answer from his grandfather.

The entire room went silent and everyone was staring at Hiruzen to figure out what to say to the blond.

Hiruzen was picturing every possible scenario in his head. Telling the blond the truth about the Kyuubi and risk everything or keep the information from the blond, until he has the right age. Keeping the information was perhaps the wiser choice, but this way, Naruto would connect the dots and think he is the demon, instead of just being its jailor. The old man sighed in defeat and looked at the blond in front of him with a decision made. He would know the truth about the Kyuubi, at least he considered the boy adapt to learn the truth of what happened nine years ago.

He was hoping, though, that the blond wouldn't connect the dots too much and ask why he was chosen to bear the Kyuubi's burden, because, then, another secret would have to be told and that one Sarutobi knew no kid was prepared for.

Hiruzen took a moment to breathe in preparation for the boy's reaction and looked at him. He explained to Naruto what really happened nine years ago and how the fox ended up being sealed inside his body. AS he explained what transpired, the boy was slowly processing the idea into his mind. He heard how the fox was responsible for his losing his sight at birth and why everyone glared at him with angry looks, but the weirdest thing, according to the other individuals in the room, was that Naruto, not once, flinched or shouted during the whole explanation and the fact that his eyes never changed, it made impossible for anyone to gouge his feelings.

However, Naruto was shocked; he just didn't let it show much. Sure, it was better than being a demon, but he was in no way prepared to hear that he's the jailor that kept the fox at bay. That information alone took a while to sink in the blond's brain, because of everything he perceived from the streets. People glaring at him, sending him hateful glares and even some curse words about him being a demon; if what his grandfather told him is true, then why do people still treat him as if he was the demon reincarnated?

The silence in the room was deafening and everyone was waiting for the blond to manifest, to say something to express his frustration regarding the shocking news.

"...Jichan, if...what you said is true, then why do people look at me as if I were the Kyuubi no Yoko? Don't they know the truth of what happened?" - Asked Naruto, before his advanced hearing felt the old man's sighing in dismay. His heart wasn't increasing its pace any longer and was now somewhat steady.

"One thing you have to understand, Naruto-kun, is that the Kyuubi no Yoko was responsible for many deaths in Konoha. Husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, children, cousins, almost everyone that were alive when the fox appeared, lost their loved ones because of the attack. The pain of sorrow is easily substituted by a need of revenge and since you're the one that house the very thing responsible for their misery..."- Explained Hiruzen in hopes of the blond understanding the full extent of the village population's suffering. "I know that you may not understand this fully, Naruto-kun, from being so young and just now knowing about the truth"

Naruto then lifted his head as if to stare at the Hokage's face directly. His eyes told the Hokage nothing and the man couldn't figure out if Naruto was angry or sad at what Hiruzen was explaining to him, then to the surprise of everyone in the room, the blond gave an answer that none of them ever expected hearing from him.

"I don't understand their pain because I never lost anyone precious in my life. However, even though respecting their decision to hate me, I can't just play ignorant about this and just let people treat me or judge me the way they want to, just because the damn fox is inside me. From what you told me, for them is easier to vent their frustrations on me instead of dealing with their pain of loss, so the next time someone decides to attack me, I'll fight back, no questions asked" - Snarled Naruto, before giving his back to the shocked Hokage.

The entire room fell into silence as the blond marched upstairs, flaring his chakra everywhere. If what Naruto said shocked everyone, what happened next, pretty much took all the breath in their lungs. A sudden dark aura began to envelop the blond like it was a protective barrier, preventing any bad influence from reaching Naruto. To the inexperienced eyes, this revelation caused surprise and question on their faces but to someone who survived two Great Ninja Wars, trained three of the most powerful shinobi in the world, the sannin and is now for the second time, Hokage of Konohagakure; Sarutobi Hiruzen's face was white instantly. He was out of breath and unable to process what he just saw.

He recalled rather vividly the last time he saw something like this and it was even before the First Great Ninja War. It was such a terrifying feeling that engulfed him at the time. In the end, his Genin team would've been killed had his sensei the late Nidaime Hokage not dealt with the last barrier of this lost skill. The old man saw Mikoto trying desperately to console her son about this, but Kaito stopped her, saying that this was something Naruto needed to handle alone.

Asuma, though, focused on his father's shocked face and he knew, instantly, that something was very wrong here.

"Otousan, what happened? What was that black aura surrounding Naruto?" - Asked Asuma, almost not wanting to know the answer if it enabled a seasoned Hokage to pale in sudden shock. Hiruzen, for instance, looked at his son and turned to explain about the horrible fact that just occurred.

"What I'm about to tell you, my son will be shocking, but it needs to be said, so that we can deal with it in the future. With the exception of Mikoto-chan here, everyone knows that every shinobi or kunoichi has a particular element affinity, it being either fire, water, wind, earth or lightning" - Explained Hiruzen, entering into professor mode. The ninjas in the room nodded their heads since this was pretty much common knowledge by now. "However, we are still due to uncover one hundred percent of what chakra is able to do. Before the First Great War, my sensei the Nidaime Hokage managed to defeat an enemy who was able to use Meiton (Dark Release) ninjutsu. It took every bit of sensei's strength with suiton jutsus to overcome this man's strength"

"Meiton?? I never heard of such a thing and why are you mentioning this now?" - Asked Asuma, right now fearing whatever the old man's reasons are.

"I'm not surprised, since the last one died by the Nidaime's hands. Outside the five usual affinities, there are two other affinities that are yet to establish their domain in our world. Light and Dark Chakra, Hiton (Light Release) and Meiton (Dark Release), ying and yang. As anyone might have already guessed, one appears when the person is pure of heart and no matter what lies ahead, the heart remains pure; that's Light Chakra. On the other hand, the dark side appears with negative thoughts and feelings. I'm afraid that our Naruto-kun managed to use this ability" - Explained Hiruzen with a heavy heart.

Mikoto, just by the mention of the word dark side, fell on the ground suffering the pain her son must be facing right now. Asuma, though, wanted to know more about his nephew.

"What are the repercussions of using dark chakra and why were you shocked?" - Asked Asuma, earning a sigh from Hiruzen.

"Now it's up to Naruto, I'm afraid. He could either use this ability to help people or to harm them. Our problem relies on the fact that the dark chakra's power increased once the user is either angry or feeling negative emotions. The man the Nidaime fought wasn't a bad person, but he was able to control his anger enough to get more power of his attacks. It will depend on the boy's mind how to use this new power; I just hope darkness doesn't consume him entirely" - Concluded Sarutobi with the thought that he was getting too old for this shit.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

A while after lying on his bed, Naruto succumbed to sleeping instantly. He raced his mind about the ugly truth of what's trapped inside him and began to think about the reason behind the population's hatred towards him. His grandfather did explain about it, but Naruto just couldn't see why after nine years, people still wanted him dead.

He closed his eyes and let his body rest for a while. However, in little time, he opened his eyes inside a different environment. He was in a narrow corridor with water up to his knees. Looking up, all he could see were pipes going through multiple directions. Then it occurred to him that he wasn't using chakra and yet he was able to see perfectly. He immediately figured it was some sort of dream, but he started walking nonetheless.

Making turns, walking some more and then turning once more to the left; his legs were pretty much taking him without his consent on the matter. It was like he didn't need to think the right way to go to. Suddenly, he entered a huge room, this time the water level decreased to his feet. He looked forward to see what appeared to be a prison with a white note strapped in its center. _Where the hell am I? _- Naruto thought as he approached the cage and passed his hand over the seal and the bars.

Suddenly, though, his instincts told him to jump just as three steel claws appeared out of nowhere, aiming straight for his guts. The boy then looked up to see some frightening pair of blood red eyes looking at him as if he was this creature's next prey. A strong and fearful laughter echoed throughout the room and the face of the infamous Kyuubi no Yoko appeared fully, still laughing.

Naruto recognized the beast immediately from the book description. He flinched upon staring at the creature's awful presence and wondered how the Yondaime managed to deal with this vision of hell.

"**At last my jailor comes to visit me. I was waiting when you'd figure out the truth about why those pitiful apes look at you with such disdain and blind hatred"** - Laughed Kyuubi, while seeing the boy suddenly frown at the fox just for it being there. By now, Naruto was getting accustomed to the fox's presence. However, the thought of being in a dream still crossed his mind, but Kyuubi just laughed and explained that this was the boy's subconscious mind.

"Just looking at your picture, was enough to be afraid of you, I'm just having a hard time looking at you directly. Another thing that bothers me is how can I see without the usage of chakra, since you're the one responsible for me losing my sight" - Asked Naruto, before hearing a snort from the fox, more like displaying that he doesn't care one bit.

"**As I said, here is your subconscious mind so senses like vision don't apply here. Your mind arranges everything. Now ningen, I want to discuss with you about your new set of skills. It's been a long time since one of your kind managed to awaken Dark Chakra and I must say I'm impressed. Even a babbling idiot like you were before managed to be so corrupted to the dark side. I believe a thank you to the villagers is in order" - **Laughed Kyuubi once more, but the blond looked at him with confusion, as expected.

"**When you displayed negative thoughts for other's sufferings, you managed to awake the dark chakra that is actually stored in every one of you pitiful apes. Dark and Light Chakra are pure manifestations of one's personality. Rarely one of them even manifests the Light Chakra being when the human is pure of heart and Dark Chakra is...well the quite opposite. Just by feeling your chakra now, gives me so much pleasure"** - Explained the fox, but Naruto was still left in the dark.

"What are you talking about? All I said was that I wouldn't stay ignorant and stop being everyone's punching bag, that's all. Are you saying I'm an evil person, but I didn't do anything in that sort" - Shouted Naruto, while trying to cope with this new information.

"**Regardless of what you did or didn't do, pitiful ape, you now bare the strength of darkness, it will be up to you to use it, though. Unfortunately, you could very well use this power for good, if you learn how to control your emotions. Fortunately for you, I have two Meiton (dark release) jutsus that aren't too difficult to learn and that you'll be able to use. They are in this scroll in front of you together with how to use dark chakra to perform both ninjutsu and genjutsu. Now, get out of my sight and let me sleep"** - Shouted Kyuubi, before Naruto was long gone from his subconscious mind.

Instantly, he was on the outside world once more as his blindness returned full force. The house was silent, meaning it wasn't daylight yet. Also looking with chakra at the watch stored next to his bed, it was still two hours left for the moon to leave and the sun to fill its place. The blond found it weird that the information of the scroll was pretty much implanted in his mind. The knowledge on how to use dark chakra and the seals needed for two low-level techniques. The information about the techniques still eluded the blond as well as the fact that he still didn't comprehend the fact that he has access to dark chakra. His words echoed inside his mind regarding what he said to his grandfather. They were all true and if necessary, he would say again. Sure, the blond understood everyone is entitled to their misery, but that doesn't mean he should take a beating and don't lift a finger to at least protect himself. He was out in the middle of the night processing every bit of information that was now stored in his mind, regarding the usage of black chakra.

Readily closing his eyes, the boy focused on manifesting his chakra, before to his surprise, a sudden dark substance began surrounding his body, most like a cloak that would protect him from his enemies. After, he remembered the four hand seal sequence needed to learn the first darkness jutsu on his arsenal called **Meiton Kuro Senbon **(Dark Release: Dark Senbon Jutsu) and the theory behind it all was to mold the already existing chakra surrounding the blond into a great number of needles. Going through the hand seal sequence (Ne - Rat, Usagi - Rabbit, Inu – Dog, Tora – tiger), the blond could feel his chakra being molded, before his chakra like vision began to see a lot of needles being formed in front of him, before he smiled in appreciation. With just a flare of his chakra, the needles were shot with great speed towards the incoming tree, before he saw all of them imbedded at the tree.

The boy, despite knowing about the source of this power, couldn't help but smile at his first jutsu. According to the damn fox, it would be up to him how he'd use Meiton for, but Naruto couldn't make any conclusions out of this. Dark chakra is a result of a huge array of negative emotions, but the blond, while never the same smiling face anymore, didn't feel like destroying everything and everyone just because people use him as the punching bag. Well, the answer wouldn't come to him right now, but at least he felt he could use these two new jutsus in order to defend himself against those who try to hurt him. Plus, the boy was improving his family Taijutsu style, the Saruken.

Without more wonderings, the blond now moved to his other jutsu, but the name itself made him wonder.

**Meiton Gaikotsu Bunshin **(Dark Release: Skeleton Bunshin Jutsu)

First of all, the blond was loathing the name Bunshin because this was the only academy jutsu he had yet to learn how to do it like it should. But this new one is definitely different from either the normal Bunshin or the Kage Bunshin, he once heard his grandfather explain it to him. Nevertheless, he initiated the five seal sequence, before slamming both his hands on the ground, since the black chakra would have to be sent to the ground. Suddenly, though, in front of him, four holes opened up and, four skulls appeared out of it, before looking at him. According to the information that the fox gave him, these clones were his exact replicate, albeit just his bone structure at least. They're more resilient to damage than neither the regular Bunshin nor even the elemental ones he could fight out there.

Well, another jutsu for my arsenal, Naruto thought as he dispelled the technique and the bones just fall limb on the floor, before the ground enveloped them. Smiling, the blond practiced his two jutsus until the sun was up, with a smile on his face.

_Let's see those ignorant fools try their luck on me once more…_

* * *

_AN: Ok that's it for this chapter. A new Naruto, albeit a dark one; wonder now what's going to happen to anyone to try to mess with him once more. Also how will Naruto's family, specially Mikoto react once she sees Naruto's skull Bunshin. Or better yet, those ignorant villagers sees the skulls and scream the 'demon is upon us once more, save yourselves'. It would be fun, isn't it? _

_Give me your thoughts on the Meiton (Dark Release); I'm open for suggestions._

_See ya next time_


	6. Graduation

_First of all, I need to run some explanations regarding Naruto's new set of skills. For instance, people asked me if __**Meiton**_ _(Dark Release) would be a different affinity as the others usual ones, so I'll explain. Light and Dark chakra are rare manifestations in human begins, even though both ying and yang are present inside each body. It's what gives balance, so no one can be only pure of heart (light chakra) and no one can feel only darkness, despite one being the enemy. In order for Light chakra to manifest, one has to be either pure of heart, meaning that whatever happens, one manages to forgive and not allow their emotions to rule their thoughts. Dark chakra, however, is quite the opposite; Naruto manifested it because of his consideration regarding other's suffering._

_It's the same difference between Jedi and Sith in Star Wars. But even if one manages to control dark emotions, doesn't mean that he's necessarily an evil person._

_Now, since Naruto managed to manifest dark chakra, he has this skill apart from the usual elemental chakra (earth, lightning, wind, fire and water), which means he not only can manifest dark chakra, but also the element that his body is best accustomed to, whatever that is (oh I know which element will be, but I won't tell…what would be the fun in ruining the surprise ahead of schedule, right?) _

_Enough with the explanation for now, let's start the chapter…_

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Graduation**

**Beta: Dreetje**

* * *

Three years passed since the discovery of Naruto's skills and Sarutobi Hiruzen was, in his office, reading what appeared to be the hundredth complaint made by the local population as well as some ninjas who were 'one hundred percent' sure of his grandson's acts of cruelty. The man knew better, though, than to believe in such biased opinions of the actual truth of what happened each time that his grandson ended up being involved. He knew Naruto to be the wielder of Meiton (Dark Release), but in no circumstances, would the blond start any direct confrontation against either civilians or shinobi. In fact, he even remembered watching in his crystal ball one day when a couple of Genin decided to use his grandson as target practice, throwing deadly projectiles at him from a short distance.

At the time, Sarutobi was impressed with the blond's speed and ability to 'hear' the weapon's trajectory, thus dodging them all with efficiency. The only problem was that after dodging all the incoming weapons, instead of only being in the defensive, the blond did some hand seals for his technique, which the Hokage came to know as **Meiton Kuro Senbon **(Dark Release: Black Needles Jutsu). The three Genin were immediately admitted to the Hospital and were off-duty for at least a week until the last needle was removed. Besides that, Sarutobi remembered a middle age woman screaming to the heavens when she saw one of the blond's skeleton Bunshin entering her store in order to buy some groceries. Hiruzen, later, learned that the same woman treated the blond badly, refusing to sell anything to him, in hopes that the 'demon' would die from hunger.

Besides that, the blond was having pretty much a normal life….well as normal as it could be in his situation; with his family, you just couldn't tell Naruto was angry, since the blond enjoyed spending time with them, especially his little brother Konohamaru. However, the majority of the population and few shinobi were against any sort of contact with the boy and even though Sarutobi issued a law forbidding from saying out loud, they continued on their quest to influence their offspring in order to avoid the 'demon' as everyone calls him. It only got worse, though, as Naruto's dark chakra became public knowledge, which helped to fuel the ignorant majority's opinion that the boy was the demon fox reincarnated and wouldn't take long to cause havoc throughout the village.

Nevertheless, with his grandson's graduation date approaching, Hiruzen was hopeful that whoever it's assigned to take care of his training can hopefully mold his character as he goes through the shinobi life's tribulations.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

It was already time to leave for the academy, as the blond left the Sarutobi Mansion before heading towards his last day as an academy student. With 12 years old, the blond made some adjustments to his outfit…not that it mattered much since he was blind, but he knew his mother loved shopping for him, so he used it to make her happy. It composed of army black boots, black Anbu stylized pants and a light blue clean shirt. His grandfather, also, gave him the same gray arm protectors he used which Naruto greatly appreciated at the time, which was now incorporated in his wardrobe, although instead of gray, the blonds' arm protector was black to match with the pants and boots. Hiruzen also gave him some sunglasses in order to hide his lifeless eyes, but this time, the blond, although accepting the gift, never wore them.

It wasn't necessary in his opinion…

As he walked calmly towards the academy, he could feel the looks people gave him as well as what each of them felt. He couldn't help but smile at this, though. Although they all knew the difference between the demon and the blond, they, instead, choose to vent their frustrations on him, instead of dealing with their pains of the past. Why they would bother, though, he wondered. It was easier, wasn't it? To blame him for what happened, instead of respecting the wishes of the dead and moving on with their lives; this way, at least according to the blond, it would be all part of their vengeance against the demon's past transgressions. To this day, the future Genin wondered if the population's thought was to kill him in hopes of killing the beast residing inside of him, thus fulfilling a lost sense of revenge.

_Too bad they didn't try, though…_

However, Naruto's train of thought was stopped short, as he saw two Genin in front of him with a not so friendly look on their faces.

"Uh, can I help you two? I don't know much I can do, being blind and all, but…" – Naruto asked, completely amused in how he could taunt these two into showing their hatred towards the Kyuubi.

True to Naruto's pretension, the two Genin, who appeared to be twins, started snarling at the blond, not at all knowing that the only objective being accomplished was making Naruto's chakra stronger.

"Okaasan warned us not to kill you, but you deserve to die for what you did to our father you demon piece of shit" – Shouted one of them, earning laughter from the blond.

"Man, it's one ignorant fool after another; how many times do I have to spell it out for you all, ..Kyuubi. Geez, I thought you all knew by now"

The twin Genin, without a word, charged Naruto with the intention of doing the same thing Kyuubi did to their father, but before they could do another step, Naruto did a sequence of four hand seals, before slamming his hands on the ground.

_**Meiton Jiongu **__(Dark Release: Dark Tendrils Jutsu)_

From the ground, appeared innumerous dark tendrils which grabbed the twins from various places before it began to squeeze each limb, threatening to draw blood at any moment, now. The Genin' anger, though, didn't subside as they glared daggers at the blond for what he did to them. However, the tendrils seemed to squeeze their limbs even tighter, as Naruto continued walking towards the academy, but he stopped after a couple of steps forward, before turning to see the Genin screaming in pain as the tendrils were drawing blood from their limbs.

"This technique is special and it won't dissipate until both of you manages to cool down your anger. The tendrils feeds themselves on negative emotions and as long as you two continue to glare daggers at me, the tendrils will squeeze tighter, until either you die from the loss of blood or fall unconscious due to the lack of oxygen. I actually prefer the latter, but the former will occur if you don't take my advice soon.

Whatever you do, though, it's up to you two" – Naruto explained as he placed his hands inside his pockets and continued his way towards the academy. The people around, though, snarled at what the blond did, even though they all knew who started the whole thing. Eventually, the Anbus who saw the whole thing cut off the tendrils, before arresting them for not only violating the Third Hokage's Law, but also from attempting a deliberate attack at an academy student.

If it was one special group that sympathized with Naruto's cause was the Anbu shinobi and kunoichi. They all knew what the blond goes through every day and the attempts on his life, even if so far, no one posed much of a threat to the blond because of his skills. One with the Hawk mask even remembered when the blind kid just knocked the shit out of a fresh out of the academy Genin when he was about ten years old.

"Hey, why are you arresting these two? They didn't do anything wrong, it was that brat that trapped them with his tendrils"

The group of Anbus that were taking away the two prisoners stopped and the one with the Hawk mask addressed the man with a stoic demeanor, befitting of a respected shinobi of his position.

"I saw the entire situation, sir and from what I saw, Naruto, the brat as you so call him, tried talking these two out of it first, but they didn't listen and charged instead. His act was purely in self-defense; now carry on with your affairs"

Instantly, the Anbu party left with the two prisoners towards the Anbu HQ, where all the prisoners were being held for questioning, regarding their past transgressions towards Sarutobi Naruto.

Back to the blond in question, he managed to see the entire situation unfold with his Chakra no Myaku Technique and smiled at both the Anbu's response and the man's indignation to his attackers' arrest. As he continued walking towards the academy, the blond considered casting one Genjutsu he managed to create with the use of dark chakra, but he considered against it in the end. This technique was reserved for tougher opponents than mere Genin who just couldn't see past their blinding hatred for the Kyuubi inside of his stomach.

Little did the blond know, though, that the fox enjoyed every moment of what happened.

* * *

**===At the Academy===**

As he arrived at his classroom, he took a seat next to Shikamaru, who happened to be seconds away from drifting to sleep from the troublesome situation of being awake. However, his demeanor changed once the blond took a seat and resumed to stare at the black board in front of them. Shikamaru was smart...damn smart for his age, so he could draw conclusions much faster than any student his age, even a few Genin.

However, the only person he couldn't understand was Sarutobi Naruto. When they started the academy together, the blond carried a cheerful demeanor, even though he knew the blond to be blind, since he was born. As the years passed, though, and when the Nara heir was about to fully understand the guy, something happens and the blond goes through a sudden change in behavior, being instead more collected. Shikamaru could as well feel a strange aura around the boy that unnerved him, up to the point that he asked his parents about it, however he frowned at the time, upon receiving only vague answers.

Shikamaru remembered how everyone advised him not to get close to the blond, but he paid it no mind, especially because it would be so damn troublesome to worry about it. But the fact remained that Sarutobi Naruto will be forever an enigma in his opinion. Plus the fact that Naruto managed to overcome his blindness by using chakra spiked his curiosity.

"Oi Naruto, what are your thoughts on the test?"

The blond turned his attention to Shikamaru, even though it wouldn't make much of a difference, seeing as he was blind, but it was a habit he got familiarized with after some time. Shikamaru was only one who talked to him at the Academy, since the rest avoided him and Shino, although different than the others, was too caught up on his own world to give attention to Naruto.

"Probably, a bit of everything we learned throughout the last year...written test, Taijutsu, weapon accuracy and ninjutsu. I'd think that Genjutsu would be as well, but I hear my father telling that illusions are a lost art these days...actually, I'm not thinking much about the test, but rather what will happen after our graduation"

"..."

"It's common knowledge that after we graduate, we'll be divided into three man units under the authority of a Jounin-sensei. However, to me at least, the majority of this classroom avoids even eye contact with me and the ones who know I exist, you and Shino, will probably be in other teams. Imagine being stuck with either Sakura or Ino at the same team..."

Shikamaru immediately gulped at the thought. Every time Shikamaru tried to sleep, it was their constant bickering that managed to awake him. Now that he remembered, his father always told about his team and how they grew up to be legends, known as the Ino-Shika-Chou team.

"It's troublesome...but I believe I already know who my team would be...me, Ino and Chouji are the second generation of the Ino-Shika-Chou Team and certainly the Hokage wouldn't miss the opportunity to assemble the same team. Man, what a drag...." - Shikamaru complained.

As soon as Shika finished his train of thought, both Iruka and Mizuki entered the classroom and as usual, Mizuki glared at Naruto, who, only smiled at the sudden feeling he always got when people feel negative emotions close to him.

"Alight class, today is the final test of the academy and as such, it's the last shot for those who are in need of improving their grades, right...Shikamaru"

The Nara heir only sighed, before explaining it was troublesome to pay attention and study. Iruka snorted and began speaking once more.

"The test will compose of three parts, a written test, basic Taijutsu against one another and performing one ninjutsu of our choosing. The written part will be given by Mizuki here, following by the Taijutsu part, which I will proctor, followed by the ninjutsu program that both of us will oversee"

Naruto heard everything and frowned in suspicion. Ever since Mizuki first started teaching, he tried time and time again to force the blond to fail and even though Naruto managed to pinpoint the fraud, he could always complain to Iruka and he would change the test immediately. Now that Mizuki is the one doing the written test alone, nothing would stop him from failing Naruto by either applying a harder test or throwing away his test afterwards, saying he didn't write anything.

His feeling of suspicion only increased as Naruto took notice of the man's evil smirk.

Suddenly, the blond's mind began processing his options. His grades throughout the academy placed him as second best only after Uchiha Sasuke, but by failing in this test, his grades may not be enough to graduate, even if he excels at the rest of the test. He needed to do something about the test or else Mizuki would accomplish his goal. He couldn't think of any way out, as Mizuki was distributing the tests to the students, until he reached Naruto's place.

The test he gave Naruto, was nothing out of the ordinary, the blond concluded; no Genjutsu altering the test's questions, no questions that were ahead of their current level. So, probably Mizuki would simply try to get rid of his test after the blond handed it to him.

Suddenly, an idea just clicked in his mind. It was perfect, Mizuki would be blinded by rage upon seeing Naruto's test, but when the blond handed it in and Mizuki saw that not a word was written, he wouldn't do anything and just place it in the pile. Of course, Naruto knew of a simple Genjutsu that could make his answer disappear and when Mizuki placed his exam in the pile, the blond would dissolve the Genjutsu and the answers would show.

The only thing that Naruto was supposed to do was to appear frightened by these easy questions, before handing the test to Mizuki. As the time passed, the man in question was paying attention to the entire classroom to see if anyone was cheating; but it was only a façade since he not once lost focus on the "Demon Brat" and the fact that the blond seemed to be struggling to answer the questions as effective as it should be, much to his fascination at the thought of Naruto not even graduating, thus having to stay one more year with them. Mizuki was smiling at the prospect of deliberately failing the blond every time until he either drops the academy or is asked to drop the program for good. There are some kids that no matter how skilled they are, their grades was never to acceptable standards that Konoha would give them a hitai-ate, so instead, this student would be given another opportunity to join other curriculum such as Fire Capital's Samurai Program.

As the students delivered their papers to Mizuki, he was smiling at how emptier the class now was, leaving only Naruto and a few other dropouts to finish the test. If possible, the look on happiness in Mizuki's face was too much for him to fully conceal and the blond in question, was inside, smirking with all his might at the level of deception he was using against his teacher. A few minutes, the blond, on the outside, let out a heavy sigh in dismay, but inside, he quickly focused the necessary chakra for the Genjutsu, before handling the test for the smirking Chuunin Instructor.

Mizuki, after seeing the blond leave the classroom, checked the boy's test, only to smile since Naruto didn't answer a single question. He didn't even bother trying to alter the test and smiled at himself for just failing the demon brat outright. He, then, grabbed the pile of tests and went to the Academy's Archive, before placing the tests inside…not even a little bit aware that Naruto's test was slowly being written as if a ghost was answering the questions for him. In little to no time, the test was fully written and the Genjutsu was dispelled.

* * *

**===Academy's training ground===**

Umino Iruka was looking at his watch for the beginning of the second phase of the Academy test and the students slowly appeared and made a line in front of him. His watch suddenly showed the time was up, but one student remained missing, however just as he was about to address the students in front of him, he caught glimpse of Naruto approaching, before completing the line next to Shikamaru. The Nara heir, for his part, kept looking at the blond next to him with a frown on his face in contemplation. That written test was a piece of cake in his consideration and surely, Naruto would ace it no questions asked, however the blond appeared frightened in the middle of the test, almost as if he was struggling to answer what appeared to be the easiest test of their academy years.

However, Shikamaru wasn't fooled easily, which was a trait that would make him famous in the future and he knew that something was wrong about all this. The blond's grades were second only to the Uchiha Prodigy and being a part of the Sarutobi Clan, Shikamaru was certain that the Sandaime Hokage was one of, if not the best teacher on any given subject relating the shinobi world. It got even worst as he saw Naruto's grin perfectly shown on his face, like the blond just went through a breakthrough in life. His musings were cut short, though, as Iruka was telling about the second phase of the exam.

"I hope that everyone managed to do well on the exams, but just so you know, for those who're not feeling so confident, this whole test is not determined by one skill alone. You will all be evaluated for your performances in all three parts of the test, so if you felt like you could have done better at the written exam, try harder in the Taijutsu and ninjutsu portion of the test and you'll manage to graduate no problem. Now, I'll be calling on names and as I said before, I'll be selecting pairs for a bull taijutsu showdown, now mind you that winning the match won't be necessary, but you'll receive grades for strike accuracy, defensive maneuvers and the style's correct stances, okay first group is Ichigo against Kiba, you two please start on my mark…okay…go"

Naruto was watching as all of his class mates got into their respective matches. Kiba, although rash and annoying with that big mouth of his, didn't have any problem against his opponent as he finished the battle with a couple of well-delivered punches to Ichigo's chest, before landing a reverse kick on his face, sending the poor boy to the ground, instantly.

Shino was next and Naruto actually respected the bug user's skills in Taijutsu, even though he knew the brown haired boy's skills favored his hidden Kikaichu bugs; Shino would analyze the opponent for a good while, before said opponent charged at him, rather reckless, before receiving a strong punch on his nose, thus falling on the ground with a thud. Next, was Shikamaru against Sasuke and although Shikamaru was by no means a Taijutsu specialist, he managed to hold his ground for a couple of minutes, until Sasuke managed to deliver a finishing blow to his sternum.

Later, Naruto came to hear from Shika that was too troublesome to continue a fight he wasn't even supposed to win, which earned a full-out grin from the blond. The blond, then, got to see why the style known as the **Jyuuken **(Gentle Fist), particular to the Hyuuga Clan, was so famous and equally reliable as he saw Hyuuga Hinata strike her opponent with downright efficiency, while maintaining a decent fluidity that was particular to this style of fighting. Of course, she didn't close any tenketsu since this happens to use chakra for it, but it was impressive in Naruto's opinion.

Naruto's fight was one of the last as he went against a dropout student by the name of Masaboro. For all the blond knew, this rather bulky kid failed to graduate from the academy last year and had to repeat due to his inability to pass the written test and the ninjutsu portion. As they positioned in front of the other, Masaboro was actually smirking with quite intensity as he got a blind kid to test himself against. No doubt, in Naruto's mind, Masaboro was thinking how he would beat the blond to the ground and score some nice points to compensate for his bad ninjutsu skills. However, Naruto didn't intend to give the boy in front of him a chance to strike at all. The **Saruken **(Monkey Fist) was known for its agility and versatility in the lines of battle and Naruto managed to come a long way under his father's guidance along the years.

Masaboro, after Iruka's consent, charged at Naruto from the front as he aimed a punch on Naruto's face. The blond waited until the last possible second to move his body with excellent fluidity as expected from the Monkey Fist style, thus taking his face away from the impact, but before Masaboro couldn't even move to retaliate, Naruto started dancing with his feet, before positioning the furthest feet behind the right one, thus landing a light kick at his opponent's leg.

The strength wasn't an issue here, but making him lose his balance was, before Naruto flipped his body and landed a surprise punch on his opponent's chest, using his body movements to better increase the power of the punch. His opponent was on the ground, instantly, and he could very well get up despite the pain of Naruto's attack, however he was downright shocked that a blind kid just managed to do that and he didn't even see the first leg swoop from below.

Iruka sighed, since he knew that this kid was hoping to score high on the Taijutsu portion, but he came to know that if anyone were to fight against Naruto, he or she would have to be aware of his dance like movements and stances. Even though he didn't know much about the Sarutobi Clan's fighting style, he knew that no one could attack recklessly like Masaboro did, or else like it happened now, Naruto landed some hidden attacks courtesy of a monkey that took his opponent by surprise.

"Alright class, this portion of the test in now complete as I got your scores right here…I know some of you would like to hear them right now, but I ain't giving you the satisfaction. Now, everyone let's get back to the classroom for the ninjutsu portion of the exam, which by the way, it's the last part and also the last chance for you to show that you are genin material in Konoha's eyes. Follow me please"

* * *

**===At the classroom===**

Once back at the class, both Iruka and Mizuki now stood in front of the class as Iruka addressed the class.

"As I said, this is the ninjutsu portion of the exam, so each one of you will be called at the classroom next to this one by alphabetic order. Once inside, you'll be asked to do all three of the jutsus learned so far, the Bunshin, Kawarimi and Henge no Jutsu. Okay, first on the list, is Aburame Shino, please come with us. The rest of you wait until your name is called by Mizuki-sensei here, okay"

The blond waited for what appeared to be a long time since, because of his last name, he was one of the last, but before the Uchiha. The blond was remembering how easy was to cast the Kawarimi and Henge, however the Bunshin no Jutsu wasn't like the others. The blond knew, from his family, that his chakra reserves were off the charts, meaning techniques that require a small amount of chakra, were hard on the blond. Eventually, though, he managed the technique but not until Tonbo-sensei taught those advanced chakra control exercises, which in fact, were obligatory if Naruto wanted to use chakra in order to see to its fullest.

His musing were cut short as Mizuki entered the class, calling his name, with a voice that carried as much disdain as possible, but the only one who caught on was Naruto himself, especially because it was directed at him in the first place and Mizuki kind of wanted the blond to hear that.

A few minutes later, Naruto was leaving the school with a smile on his face as he remembered the pissed off look of Mizuki once he aced the ninjutsu portion of the exam. Naruto would've been wrong, but he actually thought that Mizuki was counting on his abnormal chakra reserves to fail in producing the three needed copies for him to pass the exam. Now, he opened the door for the Sarutobi Compound as his chakra like vision caught a great number of the clan members training together with the bo-staff, which made Naruto smile as he went to his house.

The bo-staff, although a fantastic weapon in Naruto's opinion, would never serve him. His opinion came after testing with the stick once or twice; his grandfather explained to him that the bo-staff required two steps, one the user would have to pay attention at all his enemies instead of one at a time and two, the user's fluidity. Hiruzen, although impressed with Naruto's first usage, could see that the boy's body wasn't adequate for the style, from being too stiff in his movements. Naruto could compensate in his Taijutsu style, but the bo-staff required more. However, Hiruzen, with his amazing skills in teaching, managed to saw a fitting weapon for his grandson.

The nodashi, although not commonly used because of its size compared to the normal Wakizashi and kodashi, would prove adequate for Naruto in the long run. As a clan, The Sarutobi possessed a considerable weapon inventory and so happens to have one nodashi that Hiruzen meant to give Naruto in the future. It belonged to Hiruzen's grandfather Sarutobi Izaki and its design was fairly simple, black hilt, black hoister. That sword was responsible for Izaki's many accomplishments by the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage's side at the time and certainly, Naruto would use it well.

* * *

**===At the Hokage's office===**

Stuffing some tobacco inside his pipe, Hiruzen was addressing the two academy teacher in front of him for Konoha's next generation of ninjas. It so happens that this one was special to Hiruzen, since his grandson would finally graduate and become a ninja.

"Okay, then Iruka-kun , can you give your report?

Iruka nodded, before grabbing a scroll with the grades. Mizuki was sure Naruto didn't pass, because of the written test, but he couldn't say one hundred percent, because Iruka managed to convince him that it was no big deal to process the evaluation alone, but Mizuki couldn't find a proper argument other than 'I want to screw the demon brat', so he ended up complying, rather confident that Naruto would fail, even though the damn annoyance managed to ace the ninjutsu portion of the exam.

"Certainly Hokage-sama…" – Iruka started. "Not much of a surprise here, but Uchiha Sasuke is the rookie of the year with perfect scores Hokage-sama. Your grandson was second best, only falling behind Sasuke at the written text…"

"What…but…."

Mizuki couldn't believe his ears. Iruka said that Naruto was second best at the written text that was impossible. The blond didn't write a damn thing on the test. Nonetheless, Iruka wouldn't simply play favorites for the blond, considering Iruka's parents getting killed. Mizuki knew Iruka to be a fair teacher, despite it all that happened, but he couldn't help but wonder what happened. His eyes couldn't possibly fool him so easily. He saw that the blond's test was empty. Mizuki suddenly remembered that Naruto was carrying a huge grin on his face at the ninjutsu portion of the exam and certainly if the blond knew he failed at the written exam, he wouldn't be that confident.

_Could it be that the damn brat fooled me with a Genjutsu? Fuck….._

"What is it Mizuki, do you have anything to add?

The sudden attention was unwanted and now Mizuki was being eyed with suspicion by the Hokage, which of course, wasn't what he wanted.

"Sorry Iruka, it's nothing. I just thought that with Naruto's grades up to this point, than he would be the rookie of the year, but Sasuke got that position"

The answer was accepted by Iruka who continued to list the names of the students that passed, but the Hokage was now wary of the gray haired Chuunin. He remembered his grandson telling that he didn't trust Mizuki and even told that he sometimes tried to deliberately fail the blond several times by giving him a harder test than the others. It didn't improve his mood as Sarutobi could sense the smell of snake coming from Mizuki, but he shrugged it off in favor of focusing on Iruka as he finished the list of graduates.

"I see…so all the clan heirs passed along with a few others; I trust that you Iruka already assembled the suitable genin teams, right? – Sarutobi asked.

Iruka nodded and handed a sheet for the Hokage to read the team assembles. It was the man's smile that filled Iruka's pride, before Sarutobi gave the sheet back to Iruka.

"Great job on the teams Iruka, I concur with your assessment. Please tomorrow hand in the hitai-ates for those who passed and inform them the teams that will be formed along with their sensei's"

Iruka and Mizuki bowed in respect, before leaving the room. However, Hiruzen now remembered the scent he got from Mizuki and frowned a bit. Although he sensed that smell in a Tokubetsu Jounin by the name of Mitarashi Anko, Mizuki didn't use snakes in his arsenal, so something must be off. Sarutobi decided to investigate this manner with care. Now, however, he had other things to worry about as the sudden pile of reports was getting bigger by the second. Now remembering his grandson's Genin team, he couldn't help but smile seeing as it was indeed a nice assemble of talents under a talented Jounin.

* * *

**===At the academy, the next day===**

The next day, students were in their seats, as they awaited for both Iruka and Mizuki-sensei to arrive. Some were anxious and even terrified of the results, while others were confident of their skills that they would leave the school with a hitai-ate. The clan heirs, though, didn't even worry about the results. Each of them knew how their test went and nothing would keep them from graduating the academy.

Some were throwing away some conversation about the test; Ino and Sakura, as usual, were talking about Sasuke's performance against the Nara heir, much to said boy's annoyance, since he actually dreamed of at least one minute of silence from these two banshees. Shikamaru, also as usual, was sleeping next to a stoic Naruto. The blond, for instance, didn't have much to think about, other than waiting for the teacher to arrive with the test results.

The blond wasn't sure if his plan had worked, though. He managed to see Mizuki's reaction once he delivered the test, which was happiness that Naruto apparently didn't answer any of the questions, but Naruto wouldn't be able to know if the Genjutsu stayed long enough for Mizuki to put his test together with the pile of tests and never see it again. Naruto always considered the worst possible scenario, so it wasn't much of a shock to him that he was already preparing for the worst, which would mean resorting to show how Mizuki always tried to stop Naruto from graduating, although this of course wouldn't stick in the courtroom.

He had no proof of said statement.

Suddenly, both Iruka and Mizuki-sensei arrived with a considerable suitcase, before placing on top of the teacher's desk. It was that instant that Naruto had the decency to smile after seeing Mizuki's frown. Of course, if Naruto had indeed failed, then the man's smirk would range from ear to ear and he would deliver the news personally to the blond.

"Inside this case are thirty hitai-ates for the graduates of this year. Now, before I give the results, I want you all to know that if you fail to qualify for Genin, that doesn't mean you should quit or anything even remotely close to quitting. Trust me, the ninja world is full of hard ships and only those who withstand the pain and move on will have what it takes to raise in rank. Now, first of all, I want to congratulate two distinguishing students that excelled during the academy. These two were material for rookie of the year, but it took only one small difference at the written exam. Please come take your hitai-ates, Rookie of the Year, Sasuke Uchiha and close second Sarutobi Naruto"

Instantly, the entire classroom went in uproar as the Uchiha was quite famous both from the girl's side (fan girls) and the boy's side, regarding his last name. However, while Uchiha Sasuke's performance was admirable, certainly Naruto's was as well, considering his eye disability to read and write as proper. Nevertheless, Naruto wasn't at all surprised that the cheers didn't go to him at all, but rather the famous Uchiha instead.

It didn't matter that he wasn't rookie of the year, it mattered that he graduated. Uchiha Sasuke, though, didn't accept the fact that Naruto was so close to beating him at the academy. He knew Naruto to be blind, since those eyes of his were very unnerving to said Uchiha...it reminded of his brother, devoted of emotion, like a killing machine. However, something clicked in Sasuke's mind about an academy student close to his level. Sasuke was an avenger and he was constantly measuring himself against the other shinobi from time to time. If Sarutobi could be his rival, then Sasuke's own skills would surely progress.

A few minutes later, Iruka closed the suitcase and addressed for those who didn't pass, to try harder next year, before he started the second part of his speech.

"Now, first of all I want to congratulate all those who passed the academy and say I'm very proud of each and every one of you now Genin. However, this happens to be just a tip of the iceberg when it comes to being a shinobi. Many hardships will certainly appear in your path as each one of you ascends the shinobi ranks. I'm certain, though, that whatever it is, everyone of you is ready for what is to come. As some of you know and some of you don't, once you graduate, you're divided into three man teams under the leadership of a Jounin. That being said and the fact that thirty of you graduated, we're able to form ten teams which is both and the Hokage's belief, that will be adequate"

Iruka took a moment for the Genin to digest the notion that they would be paired as they immediately looked at each other in question. Certainly everyone started thinking about who they wanted to be paired with and certainly, two kunoichi imagined how nice it would be to be paired with Sasuke, until Iruka started saying the groups.

"Okay, then here is the list, so be quiet and pay attention. Team 1....Team 2.....Team 7: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, Inuzuka Kiba; Jounin-sensei Hatake Kakashi..."

As Iruka was about to continue, he was interrupted as Sakura started screaming to the heavens for answering her prays, allowing her to rub on Yamanaka Ino's loser face. The scarred teacher frowned at the fangirlism, before continuing with the announcement.

"Okay, now Team 8: Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, Sarutobi Naruto; Jounin-sensei Yuuhi Kurenai. Team 9 is already operation, so I'll skip to Team 10: Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru; Jounin-sensei Sarutobi Asuma. Tomorrow you'll be meeting your respective sensei's in here, at ten o' clock. Now, since this is the last time you'll see me as your teacher, I just wanted to say that I'm proud of being your teacher and hope you'll do me proud throughout the years...Dismissed"

The team arrangement was okay, Naruto supposed. He had two of the strongest Genin from his academy and both possessed useful bloodlines that could work wonders in battle. Not to mention the blond's sensei Yuuhi Kurenai; the name was alien to the blond. He supposed he couldn't make any assumptions on the woman's skills and what she could help him improve.

**

* * *

**

===At night===

When the moon appeared in the sky, the village population was at its blissful ignorance as they chatted with friends, family, boyfriend or girlfriend. Even the shinobi population, who should at least be wary inside the village for its protection, but with a moon so beautiful and bright, those that stood behind the gates chose, instead, to get drunk at the many bars that surrounded the business district.

However, one shinobi was carrying a mission for his master, hence why he couldn't relax right now. Touji Mizuki was by all means a greedy individual and for him to accept this assignment, meant very little regarding the man's loyalty to the Hidden Village in the Leaves. As he ran throughout the rooftops, the Hokage's Administration Building appeared on the horizon as well as the objective. Mizuki knew that it was a risky move, after all stealing one of Konoha's most guarded secrets would certainly label him as a missing-nin instantly, that if the Anbu doesn't catch him before he manages to escape.

Nevertheless, only great reward can a risk be considered and Mizuki's master promised him power, lots of it. Right now, he was looking at the window that would grand him entrance to the Hokage's Personal Library of Scrolls located at the last floor of the building. After he got in, he immediately and stealthy proceeded through the place which map Mizuki pretty much memorized. Even the occasional Chuunin guard that would guard the floor, the future rogue ninja knew about as he fired a senbon imbedded with paralyzing poison at the man's neck, before watching in fascination as the Chuunin began its descent towards the ground.

Quickly managing to avoid the man from falling and making any noise, Mizuki eventually found the door that lead to his target, before he grabbed a scroll that detailed Sarutobi Hiruzen's personal signature, courtesy of his master's cunningness. After opening, though, surprise stuck him, before his greedy behavior took over. Thousands and thousands of scrolls stood in front of him, containing jutsu from every element possible. However, he managed to control his urges in order to locate the scroll he was looking for.

_**Konoha's Kinjutsu scroll**_

A thorough list of forbidden jutsu that were considered by the Hokage's as forbidden for a number of reasons, whether being the destructive force, the damage to the user's body or the necessary chakra consumption. He looked for a while, before the scroll he was looking for was found. It was quite thick, Mizuki wondered as the scroll must have tons of jutsus capable of leveling an entire village.

Quickly securing the scroll by strapping it on his waist, Mizuki then proceeded for the toughest part of the mission, fleeing Konoha and meeting with his master a couple miles away from the village. Right now, the man was jumping through rooftops in a fast pace. Eventually, the man managed to enter one of the many forests that surrounded the village with a smile on his face, since hiding inside the forest was rather easy and he wouldn't be detected.

As he proceeded through the foliage, he was able to see the exceptionally big walls that protected the village from its enemies, however just as he was about to make a run for it, a voice appeared out of nowhere, thus alerting Mizuki immediately.

"Big scroll you have there Mizuki-sensei, might if I take a look?"

Although the foliage allowed him cover from a ninja's vision, the one with the voice didn't even care about the fact that it was night right now as his chakra technique managed to see the enemy easily. Mizuki, though, frowned in dismay as he could only see the man's shadow, but the voice was rather familiar....until the person appeared.

"I thought that scroll was supposed to remain under the Hokage's care, I wonder what you're doing with it?"

As soon as Naruto showed up, Mizuki relaxed somewhat and smirked at the chance of finally getting rid of the demon.

"Oh Naruto-kun, I wasn't expecting company this late at night and I was about to leave, but seeing as you're here, I might as well get rid of you. I can't have you telling the others about me, can I?"

It wasn't much of a surprise when Naruto just stood there as if he was bored out of his mind. Mizuki never hid his feelings for the demon brat, even though he never voiced those words out loud. Naruto, for his part, was eying his options at the moment. Stronger he may be for a Genin, but against a Chuunin...the blond at least thought he could hold the man's attention until the cavalry arrived.

"It just so happen that I was taking a ride throughout the rooftops and saw you with the scroll running away at a considerably high pace" - Naruto mused.

Mizuki grinned for a while, before he grabbed four shurikens and threw at Naruto. The noise made by the projectiles allowed the blond to pinpoint the projectile's trajectory as well as Mizuki's location, before he evaded to the right and threw two kunais at Mizuki, without even falling on the ground, surprising the Chuunin.

Mizuki parried the kunais with his own, before charging Naruto at Taijutsu with a flying kick towards Naruto's chest. However, the air shift was too high and the blind kid was able to dodge the incoming attack, before the Chuunin attacked the blond once more, with punches and kicks, making Naruto's life a lot harder since Mizuki was aiming for the kill.

The blond learned how to properly counter the Taijutsu blows by his sensei at the time and he knew that the images he saw would actually be "visible" one quarter of a second later than the actual image, meaning that the blond had to be one step ahead of his enemy at all times. Getting in position with the Saruken, the blond managed to dodge an incoming kick to his sternum as he, then, aimed a punch at Mizuki's chest, only for the Chuunin to dodge effortlessly, before landing a strong kick on the blond's abdomen, sending him flying for a while, before he flipped his body and landed on his feet.

Mizuki took the time to take one of the windmill shuriken on his back, before he threw it at Naruto with great speed. However, the Chuunin soon learned that projectiles were useless against the blond, seeing that just from the sound made, Naruto could dodge without even worrying about it. Quickly after dodging, Naruto made some quick hand signs before slamming his hands on the ground.

_**Meiton Jiongu (**__Dark Release: Black Tendrils Jutsu)_

Mizuki saw the hand seals and frowned at the blond's strategy. No academy jutsu would give him an advantage at Mizuki, so the man stood there waiting for what Naruto would come up with. He was shocked when something came out of the ground and grabbed his arms and legs, before squeezing it hard.

"What did you do to me you brat? Ahhhh!"

Naruto confessed that such a scream was appealing as he approached Mizuki with a smile on his face.

"That's my technique you liked. This tendrils that are now holding you are special. The more hatred you have for me, the more the tendrils will squeeze, until blood starts coming out. If you want to get out of this, then you'll have to avoid directing ill intentions at me"

Naruto adored explaining such a thing, because deep down, he knew that whatever negative emotions just don't vanish like that, thus the technique would continue to squeeze the man's limbs, until he lost all of his blood.

Mizuki, for instance, tried snarling at the blond, but like the kid said, it was worse.

Suddenly, though, Naruto ran through some hand seals one more time as he molded his chakra towards Mizuki, thus disrupting the flow of chakra.

_**GenMeiton Ankoku Akumu **__(Dark Illusion: Darkness Nightmare Jutsu)_

Instantly, Mizuki's world went blank and he couldn't see a damn thing. _What is this? Where did the brat go?_ Mizuki was starting to feel a great measure of pain as the tendrils continued to squeeze his skin, but what would happen next would be enough for the man to wish he was killed by the tendrils.

A certain sound of snarling came from the darkness and Mizuki suddenly felt a shiver up his spine. Suddenly, a drop of saliva fell on his head before the image suddenly appeared right in front of him, before he began to scream in agony at such a presence.

There it was in all its power, the Kyuubi no Kitsune snarling at him as its tails would dance with each other.

"**You stink of fear pitiful ape...and now you'll die by my hands"**

The sheer fright that Mizuki felt right now was surreal. The Kyuubi no Yoko, the demon who terrorized the village twelve years ago was released once more and would certainly level the village once more. He was screaming so much as the fox opened its mouth to devour him entirely, that eventually, his brain exploded just by the sheer presence of such a menace. In no time at all, Mizuki was dead as the illusion was disrupted and the tendrils went back to the ground.

Mizuki fell together with the scroll as suddenly, four Anbus approached the place. They witnessed everything and certainly all of them wondered what Genjutsu the blond used to cause Mizuki to scream in fright so much. The blond, though, was already moving out, confident that the Anbu would take the scroll back to the safe hands of the Hokage.

Little did he know, though, that his grandfather watched the entire thing from his crystal book with a heavy heart, despite the fact that Naruto just stopped Mizuki from leaving the village with the scroll...

* * *

_AN: Okay, that's the end of the chapter._

_I was never happy with the team selection in the anime, so I decided to change it._

_Tell me what you think._

_Also, since this will probably be my last update of 2009, I want to say happy holidays for everyone and may 2010 be the year of fan fiction. _


	7. Team Interaction

_**Author Note**_

_Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Meshii. I had some nice reviews ever since the story first started and I just wanted to say thanks for the vote of confidence. _

_Also, as usual I like to make some comments regarding the manga issue #484. First of all, I believe it's time for Kishimoto to stop being so rushed with the manga's release. I believe this one was the shortest one yet with one sequence of Naruto racing to meet his team, Sasuke gaining the advantage over Kakashi and Sakura failing to kill Sasuke, before once again having to be saved by Naruto from Sasuke's kunai. He could very well add at least some interaction between Naruto and Sasuke, before he finished. Nevertheless, finally the man let go of his Sasuke worshipping act. It was inevitable, but somehow I wondered if Kishimoto would bend his own creation so that Sasuke keeps growing and growing and not suffering the after effects of the Mangenkyou's over usage. Now, I believe Naruto won't have to lift a finger to deal with an almost blind Sasuke, but I was wrong before and certainly Kishimoto can still create a new special ability of the Uchiha that can help Sasuke overcome the blindness._

_Anyway, it's my belief that his time is done…he got Danzou killed, Itachi as well…he got his revenge; though I hate to be wrong in this…_

_Okay then enough with the rambling._

_Without further a due, here's the chapter of Meshii_

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Team interaction**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

Yuuhi Kurenai was considered one of the most popular kunoichi in Konoha, both because of her unparallel beauty and also for her skills in the illusions department.

The woman was recently promoted to Jounin and she couldn't wait to take on a team of genins to whom she could mold their skills and help them in achieving impressive goals and accomplishments in the near future. That's what she was thinking last night upon arriving at the Hokage's office for the genin teams' assembly. Once there the Hokage would position three genins under a respective jounin-sensei who would better aid the young shinobi in how to hone their skills.

She knew what her future team would specialize in and that was tracking and investigation missions. Therefore, she knew that whoever was in her team must possess skills related to the missions they would be performing as a team, like espionage and information gathering. As the gorgeous brunette arrived inside the Hokage's office, she saw a few jounin including one Sarutobi Asuma and Hatake Kakashi. When the Hokage initiated the meeting, he began with a small summary of the students that graduated that year. Of course, she knew all of them from reading their files just hours ago.

She specialized in information gathering mission after all, so it felt like her responsibility to learn and understand all the future genin's abilities.

As the Hokage finished his report, Kurenai was already calling on three genins that would fit perfect in her opinion. Aburame Shino was a part of the clan famous for its kikai bugs. The Aburame Clan was famous for information gathering as well as espionage mission as their insects are able to withhold information and relay it to the user. Plus the fact that no enemy would be aware of the bug's presence, meaning Shino had an extreme advantage in gathering information. Hyuuga Hinata, although extremely shy and lacking the necessary confidence of a proud Kunoichi, had the Byakugan. One of Konoha's famous doujutsu, it allowed one to expand their vision through miles and miles of land. Also it had 360 degree vision that would alert her of any enemies in the vicinity. Last but not least, one Inuzuka Kiba as his family happened to possess an incredibly sensitive nose making them able to pick up even the faintest scents just like a nin-dog.

All three of them would be valuable to her line of missions and no doubt would turn a heavy A-ranked espionage mission into nothing more than a C-rank, just by using the Byakugan and the Kikai Bugs.

The rest of the genins were just that...the rest in her opinion. No doubt, in her mind, Kakashi would get a heavy assault team and Asuma would get the next generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho team. There was just one genin that Kurenai was thinking, though as she was letting the biased rumors cloud her judgment. Sarutobi Naruto was the name and while she was aware of the last name, she was also aware of the rumor that the boy behaved just like the monster trapped inside his stomach close to twelve years ago. The huge number of complaints made by the citizens and even some shinobi, while highly discredited by both the Hokage and the ANBU, were enough for Kurenai to exercise caution around the boy, if ever she encounter him.

It was when the Hokage nominated the teams that Kurenai felt like verbalizing her protest immediately.

Granted she had two of the genins she so wished for, but Inuzuka Kiba would be in the Hokage's opinion, better suited as part of a full-assault team under Kakashi's guidance along with Uchiha Sasuke. The worst part was that the Hokage passed Sarutobi Naruto to her team for reasons she didn't fully understand. From what she knew, Naruto was a ninjutsu specialist with considerable taijutsu skills and a few genjutsu skills, but otherwise was not suitable for the type of missions the team would be undertaking.

Nevertheless, the Hokage was already convinced with the nominations and wouldn't hear a word of Kurenai's protests. In fact, Hiruzen was surprised Kurenai was against having his grandson Naruto on her team, but he figured it was the village's majority opinion that Sarutobi Naruto was to be treated as nothing more than a demon walking through the village streets. He couldn't do anything and certainly he wouldn't waste his time 'convincing' Kurenai like he did with Iruka.

Certainly, Kurenai was a professional kunoichi and wouldn't judge Naruto, or so he hoped.

* * *

**===current time line===**

Today as Kurenai passed through the academy hallways she was thinking about the current situation she was in and wondering how much of a hassle Naruto could be. Certainly the number of reports indicated that the blond managed to pick up fights wherever he went and Kurenai couldn't have loose cannons under her guidance. He would get his team killed by either charging an enemy while hot-headed or revealing their hidden location 'by accident'.

However, when the woman was seconds away from opening the classroom door a voice called to her as she turned only to see Asuma coming with his hands inside his pockets and his light up cigarette.

"Asuma, it's nice to see you're not late like Kakashi. What can I do for you? I was about to go inside to meet my team."

The Sarutobi Jounin smiled at the complement as he stopped in front of the gorgeous woman in order to tell her something rather important.

"Kurenai, before you take on your team I wanted to say a couple things about my nephew Naruto". The sudden topic surprised the genjutsu user as she didn't know that Naruto was Asuma's nephew, nevertheless she let the man start the explanation. "I presume you saw the number of complaints about his behavior throughout the village, but I just ask that you pay very little attention to them, if possible."

As an information gathering specialist, she knew better than to make quick assumptions based on reports, but in Naruto's case, certainly it wouldn't be strange hearing about his lack of behavior, considering that he housed the most powerful bijuu inside his body. Also, the fact that Asuma was the boy's family, it was possible that such a pledge came out of concern for the boy, rather than from plausible facts alone.

"Why must I pay little attention to them exactly?" Asked Kurenai, surprising Asuma, as she continued. "Certainly, I would question reports coming from citizens only, but several shinobi pressed charges as well and this can't be overlooked Asuma."

"You doubt the Hokage's position as well as the Anbu? Because if my memory doesn't fail me, all the reports indicated self-defense from Naruto's position." Asuma tried to reason with the ice queen, but her stoic demeanor proved that she wouldn't be convinced, so Asuma dropped the issue.

"Just do me a favor and reserve your judgment after you meet him, it's all I ask."

Asuma said, before he opened the door gathering the entire room's attention. Kurenai soon joined him inside and each called to their respective genin teams.

"Team 10 you're with me, meet me in Konoha's Barbecue Restaurant in twenty minutes."

"Team 8, I'll be your jounin-sensei. Meet me at Training Ground #8 in half an hour."

With that, the genin got up from their chairs as Shikamaru mumbled some incoherent words which only Naruto manage to hear, before he snickered at the pineapple haired genin's antics. Nevertheless, the sudden knowledge of getting Kurenai as his sensei intrigued the blond Sarutobi. Naruto always had the notion that his skills would be better suited for the battle front, with both his ninjutsu skills and taijutsu. Granted that Kurenai could improve his skills in the illusionary department, but certainly a jounin with more resolve around the ninjutsu department would better suffice.

A few minutes later, the entire team arrived at the designated spot Kurenai indicated. Right now, Kurenai was quiet, studying the new set of charges in front of her, while the genin were satisfied with waiting what their sensei had to say. Naruto, though, chose to study his teammates more thoroughly, since he would spend quite some time now. Shino was a subtle man, steady heart beat and careful enough not to show subtle movements to whatever intention he may have at the moment, but Naruto could very well ascertain his current thoughts.

The Aburame was wary of him, that much was obvious. The peculiar noise of bugs swarming inside his body didn't escape the blonde's sensitive ears as Shino's bugs were wary of Naruto's presence. One thing that Naruto learned from his grandfather was that an Aburame has a common link with their kikaichuu bugs. So, if the bugs acted strange around someone, than it serves as an alert to the clan member.

Changing his focus, he began analyzing the all too shy Hyuuga Hinata. Hinata bugged Naruto a bit, because of her eccentric behavior around others. Hiruzen never stopped mentioning that the Hyuuga Clan is a proud clan that sometimes tends to place themselves above all others and for Hinata, daughter of the Clan Head Hiashi to behave like this was interesting to say the least. However, in the midst of all that shyness, Naruto could feel something else…it resembled fear. Upon further scrutiny, Naruto managed to see her line of sight right now and it was focusing on his eyes.

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

Of course, the Hyuuga Clan focuses their shinobi skills on their impressive doujutsu called the Byakugan. Now, it's easy to know what scares a Hyuuga more than anything. It's the thought of never depending on their majestic set of eyes. And the way Hinata was looking at Naruto's eyes, then she must be terrified of the very thought of being in his shoes. Besides that, she was an open book just like everyone to whom he met in the past.

Suddenly, the jounin-sensei decided to address her genin.

"Okay, first of all, I want to say congratulations for passing the academy test, but whereas you thought you're already genin I hate to break the news for you three. So, seeing as you'll be with me for quite some time together, why doesn't each one of you introduce yourselves to the group? I'll go first."

"My name is Yuuhi Kurenai and I received the Jounin promotion a couple years ago. My likes are reading books and genjutsu techniques. I don't have much dislikes, except for those who act improperly. My dreams are not of your concern, though I have plenty of them."

As Kurenai finished introducing herself, she pointed it to Shino, who cleared his throat.

"My name is Aburame Shino and my clan techniques favor the use of my kikaichuu bugs. I like to be with my family and friends and I dislike those who mistreat bugs. My dream is to surpass my father and become clan head."

Nodding at the introduction, Kurenai turned to the shy Hyuuga as Hinata begun talking while stuttering.

"Ano, m-my name is Hyuuga Hinata and my likes a-re being wi-with my little sister. My dis-likes a-re those who mistreat others based on mere differences and my dr-dream is for my fa-father to be proud of my skills as a kunoichi."

Shino was okay, but Hinata had some major confidence issues in both Kurenai and Naruto's position. Kurenai knew about Hyuuga Hiashi's poor treatment of the girl and no matter how Hinata improved, the man always treated her accomplishments as unimportant. Easily enough, she would have to focus more on Hinata. Remembering that one genin had yet to introduce himself, she turned to Naruto and ushered him to speak.

"Sarutobi Naruto is the name and my likes are being with my family. I hate with a passion those who can't put the past behind them and attack me with no reason. My dreams…well, when I have one, you'll be the first one to know."

After he closed his mouth, he could feel three set of eyes all focused on him like he was a wolf disguised as a sheep. Also, his sensitive ears managed to ascertain a sudden increase in heart beat coming from his sensei, which meant that something happened to her in the past that probably was the fox's fault. Kurenai, for her part, glared daggers at the blonde for what he said. Like the majority of the population, she too lost important people in her life because of the fox's rampage twelve years ago. And while she was the very few who knew the difference between the bijuu and the jinchuuriki, she was still angry with Naruto for what he said. Surely, a person of his position had to at least show some respect for those who sacrificed their lives so that the Yondaime Hokage could imprison the beast.

Naruto, for his part, smiled as the sudden feeling of anger served as fuel for his chakra. His tainted chakra happened to be a catalyst for negative emotions, such as the one Kurenai was directing at him. So, deciding to increase said feeling, Naruto pushed his sensei.

"Kurenai-sensei, although I'm blind, I can very well feel that you're directing waves of anger at my direction. I just wondered what I did to deserve such 'infatuation'".

At this, she clenched her muscles at such apparently innocent question.

For all her might, she wanted nothing more than explain to Naruto and the now confused genin, the source of her anger, but the issue behind the Kyuubi was a sensitive one and revealing it to the younger population was to be considered a high-level offense, sentenced by death. So, she took a moment to control her breathings and managed to cool off her urges. Nevertheless, she now knew that Naruto needed to be watched.

"Okay, now that the introductions are over there is still another issue that needs taking care of. Even though you graduated, as of now, none of you are considered genin. There is still a test in order for you to be called genin and I'll be the one giving it to you three."

The information, while surprising to the group, wasn't totally unexpected as all three of them had sharp minds relating the way the shinobi world works. Kurenai hoped this would scare them, but she knew better. Of course, all clan heirs had enough knowledge drilled by their fathers about the ninja world.

"Out of the graduates, we need to see which ones have the necessary skills to survive out there, not only to prevent unnecessary deaths, but also to fully test if your initiation training are complete. Now, the test I'll be giving you is quite simple in theory, but as you proceed through it, you'll realize it will get harder. The objective is simple, do you see this picture I'm holding in my right hand"

Certainly, she knew Naruto to be blind, much to the blonde's snort.

However, he wouldn't dwell on it, as his chakra no myaku technique managed to show the image to his brain. It was a large scroll wrapped with a red tape and a kanji inscription in the middle. The word was the village's name. After a few minutes of looking, Kurenai kept the picture inside her clothes and crossed her arms as she relayed the mission the genin were about to undertake.

"As you can see, Training Ground #8 is surrounded by heavy foliage and deep lakes and the scroll I just showed you, happens to be hidden somewhere around here. Your job is to find the scroll before this timer rings. I'll give you three a total of four hours to complete. Oh…and always watch your surroundings and protect your teammates. I won't just stand here and let you three find the scroll, so I placed traps around the vicinity. Also, from time to time, I will cast genjutsus on each of you three."

Kurenai's firm posture told the genin that she wasn't screwing around with this test and Naruto was beginning to like this person already. Just as Kurenai authorized the team to begin, she vanished within a swirl of leaves, leaving the team alone. The first problem encountered was that not one of them talked first for a while, meaning that so far, this team had little interaction. It took some time, but Shino started talking.

"Okay, it's safe to say we don't know each other all that well, but logic says we should complete the objective before the timer rings. I happen to know about Hinata's skills, but I don't know yours Naruto…"

Naruto nodded at Shino, though the Aburame needn't worry about his skills at the moment, rather the mission at hand.

"You don't need to know Shino, at least not for now…you two can use your skills in order to search for the scroll, I'll be the one protecting you two. With the Byakugan and your kikaichuu bugs, it won't take long to find the scroll's position in the vicinity and I guess Kurenai-sensei will attack us with either weapons or genjutsu techniques to confuse us. This is where I'll come in to protect you both. Just watch out for the traps as well."

At this entire time, Hinata was looking at Naruto and wondering the entire time how could he live without the use of his eyes function. Add to the foul chakra she could sense coming from the blonde and the evil aura was enough to frighten her a little bit. However, just like Shino said, what was important right now was the mission at hand not what she was thinking about the blond right now.

Shino, for his part, concurred with Naruto's plan as he and Hinata activated their respective clan abilities. Hinata's Byakugan was an amazing skill and allowed her peripheral vision around them. Also, by looking at a certain direction, she could elongate her line of sight to miles and miles, hence why Hinata had already managed to locate the scroll's position. Problem was that where she found one, by expanding her sight, she could see ten others in different directions, which surprised her as her team progressed throughout the heavy foliage.

"Ano, the-there is mo-more than one scroll out there." Hinata said, alerting both Shino and Naruto as they jumped through the trees in perfect unit mobility.

"It's certain that only one of them is real and the others are bunshins. Do they all look the same, Hinata?" Shino asked, before seeing the Hyuuga nod. He looked at Naruto to see him making a series of hand seals, before molding that foul chakra both Shino and Hinata sensed before.

_**Meiton Taijuu Gaikotsu Bunshin**__ (Dark Release: Multiple Skeleton Bunshin Jutsu)_

Before they realized what was happening, a great number of bones appeared from the ground. It was like they were watching a horror movie. Shino, though, remained collected but Hinata was already shaking in fear of such an atrocity. Afterwards, the bones suddenly united themselves, forming a great number of skeletons as they appeared next to Naruto. The strangest thing, to them, was that they looked just like him except for the skin and Naruto's clothes, but otherwise they had the same measures. The real Naruto smirked at his teammate's reactions as well as the fact that he heard someone flinch somewhere, probably Kurenai from witnessing the skeleton bunshins.

"Don't worry about them. They are my technique, called skeleton bunshins. I'll explain afterwards if any of you are interested to hear. Now, each of these bunshins will travel to the scrolls' locations. So, tell me their direction." Naruto said, as the nervous Hinata described their directions, before seeing a bunch of skeletons travelling throughout the foliage. It wasn't long before all ten of them got dispatched. Soon only the three remained. As they were about to move the sudden sound of projectiles coming their way entered Naruto's sensitive ears, to which he grabbed a few shurikens and threw them alerting Shino and Hinata causing them to question why Naruto would do that out of nowhere.

However, they soon heard the sound of metal colliding against metal, which meant that Kurenai must have planted a trap nearby.

With the projectiles being taken care of, the group charged once more as Hinata and Shino were using their skills to find the scroll, while Naruto was searching for Kurenai's position as well as any hidden traps.

Suddenly, the image presented by his technique began to disrupt momentarily, showing a different view all of a sudden. Whereas before Naruto was seeing the huge trees in front of them, now he saw a green field with a lake in front of him. However, quite to Kurenai's surprise, the blonde's path didn't deteriorate as he continued to travel through the foliage as if he wasn't trapped in her altering image genjutsu.

Little to her knowledge, though, Naruto wasn't only guided by images sent to his brain.

He managed to travel by scent as well as the air around him. However, the blonde didn't want to play any longer as he expanded his chakra no myaku technique further, disrupting Kurenai's chakra immediately as the forest image came back to him. By now, Kurenai's position was clear in his mind, though he decided to play along since she was aiming for the other two now. Naruto saw both Shino and Hinata immediately dispel the techniques as their skills helped them detect a sudden chakra intrusion only seconds after it started.

Out of nowhere, Hinata stopped the group as they landed on the ground behind a thick tree.

"What is it, Hinata?" Asked Shino as he gathered his bugs to form a circle around the group just in case Kurenai attacked them while they were talking.

"Naruto-san's bun-bunshins alre-already reached the scrolls' position. Though all of them are bunshins, just like you said Shino."

"Right, we need to hurry, time is almost up. Hinata, expand your vision using Naruto's bunshins as location pointers. Look for a scroll that none of them managed to find. If they are in fact bunshins, then the real one must be near the clones." Advised Shino earning a nod from Hinata. Naruto was impressed with Shino's assessment. Indeed, the respect he felt for the Aburame raised a few points.

As Hinata was about to pinpoint the scroll's location, a huge barrage of kunai suddenly attacked the team, surprising all three of them. However, both Shino and Naruto were faster as each of them used defensive techniques to protect themselves.

_**Meiton Kurosekisho **__(Dark Release: Dark Barrier Jutsu)_

_**Mushi Kabe no Jutsu**__ (Insect Wall Jutsu)_

Suddenly, the bugs started to form a protective barrier around the group, deflecting some kunai but not all of them. The rest were taken care of by a dark shield that emerged from the ground. Both Shino and Naruto turned to Hinata in order for her to pinpoint the exact location of the scroll so that they could get it. With the defensive jutsus, she had enough time to examine the terrain for the scrolls that Naruto's bunshins managed to find and another one close behind. It took a minute, but she was able to find it a few meters behind the farthest scroll bunshin.

As Shino's bugs stopped the last of the kunai, the group charged fast to the real scroll's position until Shino grabbed it just as the timer started to ring. Naruto could hear a distant sound of clapping approaching the group, before their sensei appeared behind a thick tree congratulating the team.

"Well done all three of you. During the test I managed to assess your skills relating teamwork, genjutsu dispelling and ninjutsu techniques. Although some of them are still creeping the hell out of me as of this moment, you three are genins under my command. We are Team 8 and it is my dream to see you three advance through the ranks." Kurenai praised the three, before dismissing them for the day.

"All of you are dismissed, except you Naruto. I wish to talk with you for a moment."

The blonde nodded, before seeing Shino and Hinata leaving the thick forest towards their respective clan compounds. Naruto, for his part found a thick log lying on the ground where he took a sit and faced the ground for a moment waiting for what Kurenai wanted to say to him. The woman, for her part, was now conflicted regarding her thoughts of the blonde. Throughout this test, Naruto managed to protect his team, where she thought he wouldn't give a rat's ass to their well-being. He was the one who came with the group's defensive line, allowing both Shino and Hinata to concentrate on finding the scroll.

Suddenly, memories of Asuma pleading for her to reserve judgment appeared in her mind and she had the decency to smile at Naruto. Still, another memory assaulted her mind, regarding his lack of respect for those who sacrificed their lives for the Kyuubi's defeat. Right now, her head was in turmoil regarding the previous events and the empty opinion of a delinquent that did nothing but cause trouble everywhere he went.

"Naruto, I…" Kurenai said, but the blonde interrupted her before she could even begin.

"It seems now you're more relaxed, your heart beat that is." said Naruto, surprising Kurenai as she looked at him with an intrigued demeanor. She knew that blind people tend to possess improvement in other senses such as hearing and smell. But to know he could hear the sound of a beating heart from such a distance was incredible.

"Naruto, I wanted to ask you something and please be honest with me. What did you mean when you said you hated those who couldn't put their past away? I know you meant the Kyuubi inside of you, I'm just curious as to your lack of respect towards those who passed away."

The question was indeed intriguing to the blonde, since Kurenai could very well get her answer from the numerous reports filed against him. Suddenly, realization was upon him instantly. She gave little mind to the reports and their content, rather drawing wrong conclusions about his demeanor.

"Kurenai-sensei, ever since I could remember, people kept attacking me just because I happen to house the very source of their misery twelve years ago. They all believe it would be justified to kill me because in their pathetic way of thinking, I'm the beast reincarnated. Sarutobi-Ojichan explained to me that the reason behind all the attacks, was that people find it hard to let go of their past and instead use me as a scapegoat. To them, it's easier to vent their frustrations on the demon child instead of learning to cope with the past."

Kurenai listened as images of her loved ones dying invaded her mind and the constant times she felt like seeking vengeance for their deaths on Naruto.

"Those reports against me were all from people who attacked me first from the belief that by killing me, they would rid the world of the fox inside my stomach. In my opinion, though, they are doing this because it's easier than letting go of what happened in the past. I could feel your hatred towards me before Kurenai-sensei and I saw how much resolve you had in you not to attack me right then and there." said Naruto with a solemn look on his face, even though his lifeless eyes remained the same. To Kurenai, it was hard to see any kind of emotion coming from those eyes, but somehow she could feel the dark aura surrounding the boy and it saddened her greatly.

A sudden tear escaped her eye before it dropped on the ground, however Naruto could hear it loud and clear. He faced Kurenai, before wondering why she was crying, when memories suddenly appeared in his mind regarding the time his mother cried next to him all those years ago. Unknown to the blonde, Kurenai was crying all right, but the reason was because she actually thought that by killing Naruto, her loved ones would be avenged. She now blamed herself for her traumatized mind, which almost ordered her body to charge against the boy without even worrying about the unforeseen consequences of getting her revenge. Kurenai now knew that nothing she did would change what happened to her family.

As she cleaned the tears of her eyes, she smiled upon looking up in the sky as the sunlight managed to illuminate the dark forest they were staying in right now.

Naruto could feel how his chakra diminished every second and it was because of Kurenai that he felt like this.

It was the same feeling he got upon spending time with his mother and his family as he remembered what his grandfather said a few months ago:

'W_hen in the presence of light, darkness doesn't know where to hide.'_

Surely, dark's only weakness is light. However, where there is light, there is also darkness. So, darkness will never fully vanish as it happens to balance the human's existence.

Seeing that Kurenai was in her own little world right now, Naruto got up from the tree log he was sitting in and left Kurenai alone to look at the sky as he knew her questions were already answered.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

Seeing that he still had time before he went home for dinner, Naruto chose to go to his most secluded training ground located above the Hokage Mountain.

It was a place his grandfather showed him when he asked if there was a place no one could disturb him by either mocking his existence or attacking him in hope to avenge their past loved ones. He decided that instead of ninjutsu, taijutsu could do some work. So he summoned some skeleton bunshins to aid him in his taijutsu skills. The good thing about them was that unlike the Kage Bunshin, a technique he can also do by the way, the skeleton bunshins had more durability; probably because of the bones as they were much more resilient to damage.

After two skeleton bunshins materialized from the ground, the real Naruto began charging them with the Sarutobi style of fighting.

As he aimed a strong punch against the first bunshin, the clone maneuvered his body around the punch, before jumping and flipping its body to deliver a solid kick to Naruto's chest. The blonde dodged the strike before looking as the other came from behind with another kick. Doing a couple of back flips, Naruto ended his maneuver with a larger back flip, before charging with a flying kick at one of the clones.

The problem was that although Naruto managed to land a hit, the clone's bones required a stronger strike to break.

However, the clones didn't bother as they attacked the real Naruto without mercy.

It was when one tried to attack with a strong punch that Naruto managed to grab the attacker's body, before positioning it in front of him as Naruto used the skeleton in order to flip his body and land a strike at the other clone's skull with a chakra reinforced blow, thus managing to break the clone's bones. With only one left, Naruto didn't need to worry as much as in a one-to-one fight he didn't have to split is focus.

As the clone tried to land a kick on Naruto, the blonde placed his right foot in front of him, before bringing his left foot from all the way back to land a fierce side kick right at the clone's left cheek (considering that he even had a cheek, it's just a location). The kick was too strong and the bone broke. The problem with fighting against bones is that every hit you land must be cushioned with chakra; otherwise you'd break your limbs easily.

While it didn't break, Naruto was feeling a lot of pain from his right leg.

Nevertheless, he knew that Kyuubi would end up fixing it in a couple minutes. Right now, his focus was on practicing a new technique Kyuubi taught him the other day.

Its name is **Meiton Kuroiryuudan **(Dark Release: Black Dragon Projectile Jutsu)

The concept of molding chakra, resembling a specific figure was alien to the blonde. Not because he was blind, but he actually didn't believe it to be possible.

Granted he knew about the existence of some elemental techniques that resembled a dragon charging at an enemy, but dark release techniques were different it wasn't exactly considered an element. Also since each mind thinks differently, Naruto joked that no technique would be similar to another. One would mold the technique creating a two headed fire dragon and the other would create winds coming out of the creature's body.

Nevertheless, Naruto guessed he should work with his concept of what a dragon should look like, considering he never saw one.

Elongated teeth, menacing slit eyes like a reptile, his concept of a dragon was slowly forming in his mind. A sharp tail and claws that could tear through any sort of defense, plus a solid black reptile skin that would protect the animal from any sort of attack also came to mind. According to Kyuubi, the first step to molding chakra outside the human's body is to think of the creature's structure and details. The fox once said that no human truly understood the power of the brain as just by thinking, one could create any figure the human so desired, adding just chakra to the mix.

Focusing his chakra, Naruto started the hand seals that were taught by his fox-sensei. Slowly, but surely, his chakra was being molded exactly as Kyuubi said it would be. Curiously, the last hand seal was the dragon as a black vortex took shape near Naruto's shoulder level, before two paws grabbed the end of the black hole. Naruto was still molding his chakra as the technique was only completed once the dragon erupted from the black hole. Suddenly, the head appeared and needless to say, anyone would piss their pants just from the sight. The creature's eyes were dark yellow and its teeth were so big that the creature couldn't fully close its mouth without showing them, just like an alligator.

The creature suddenly let out a deafening roar as it echoed throughout the clearing, bringing shivers to anyone who heard it.

Slowly, the dragon was coming out of the hole as it managed to free its wings from the tight hole. Naruto's chakra was being consumed by the minute and he wondered how much more he needed before he ran out of it. Finally, the sharp tail came out as the dragon charged against a set of trees right in front of him. The problem was that Naruto didn't have enough chakra to direct the menacing creature's attack, hence why he stopped the chakra molding and the dragon instead changed its course to the sky, before the creature vanished.

The blonde was panting on the ground from exhaustion. He didn't know he needed this much chakra for the technique to work.

"**Insolent fool, this technique doesn't require chakra but hatred. Dark chakra techniques don't require quantity, only quality. Unlike other techniques, you need to remember everyone who attacked you because of me. Remember their pain, their hatred and you won't need chakra. Now, I'll replenish your chakra supply for one more try!"**

Naruto nodded, as he felt his chakra being filled once more.

Like his sensei advised, he was remembering every fool who tried to attack him. Their fear, their hatred, the speed in which their hearts were beating from fear of the Kyuubi releasing its rampage once more flowed through his mind. Suddenly, a dark aura surrounded the boy and he smiled before going through the hand seals one more time. As he molded the chakra, both the image of the dragon and the trigger to his dark chakra were clear in his mind as he finished the hand seal sequence.

The dark hole appeared once more and this time the dragon didn't take too long to get out of the hole as it roared even louder this time. This time, the entire village fell victim to the creature's killing intent as the dragon charged against the group of trees.

It took only seconds for the dragon to obliterate the entire forest with an explosion, quite to the blonde's smirk as he managed to perform a higher level technique.

"**Finally, you realized the true power of darkness. Now, you can expand even your other techniques. You must feel the dark side coursing through your veins."**

As Naruto heard his mentor, he decided to wrap things up for today and go home. However the boy stopped once he felt a considerable number of presences reaching his position, forcing a smile on his face as he attracted quite the attention with his technique.

* * *

**===Two hours prior===**

After Kurenai dismissed her team for the day, she was called by the Hokage for the team's assessment.

Right now, all the jounin that were assembled to be senseis were speaking with the Hokage by the time she arrived. To her slight surprise, out of the teams passed at the academy, none of them managed to pass. Three teams, though, were waiting for Asuma, Kurenai and Kakashi's assessment.

Asuma and Kakashi passed their students much to the group's shock, since Kakashi had yet to pass a team for seven years now.

According to him, although Uchiha Sasuke has yet to learn how to work with others, the team managed to work together quite nicely. When it was Kurenai's turn to explain her team's situation, she could feel three sets of eyes looking at her those being Asuma, the Hokage and Kakashi. She knew Naruto to be affiliated to the Sarutobi Clan, but why would Kakashi be interested in the boy?

"Team 8 passed, Hokage-sama" Kurenai said, earning a smile from the three as she continued. "Shino and Hinata possess natural skills in tracking and infiltration and Sarutobi Naruto is a natural when the protection of his teammates is involved. He possesses a high level of skills in anticipating attacks and he can adapt to any kind of situation. All in all, this team is perfect for the type of assignments we'll be receiving."

"Very well Kurenai-san. Therefore, from all the graduated, only three teams managed to pass. Unfortunately, the rest will go back to the academy for another year as they will receive extra lessons in teamwork. Now..."

Out of a sudden, a deafening scream reached the sensitive ears inside the room as a few even started shaking in fear for their lives. Immediately, the Hokage assembled two Anbus that were stationed outside his office, before one with the Hawk reported the situation.

"Hokage-sama, we spotted high usage of chakra near the Hokage Monument. Possible enemy attack, awaiting orders."

Sarutobi Hiruzen paused for a while, in order to assess the situation.

"Everyone follow me, I have a hunch about the source of this chakra, but I don't want to take any chances, let's go...."

One second later, the entire room was empty as everyone, including the Hokage, the Anbu and the jounin vanished towards the Hokage Monument.

* * *

**===At the Hokage Monument===**

As the group arrived, all of them saw the menacing black dragon before it leveled the entire forest, gathering quite a lot of dust.

Beneath the explosion and the dust, the shadow of a person appeared and quite to the shock of everyone, it was short most likely a genin by the individual's stature. When the smoke cleared, some of the jounins snarled at the presence of the demon, while the Hokage, Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai were shocked to see so much hatred leaking from the boy as the dark aura was still enveloping his body.

"Well...well, I didn't imagine I would attract this much attention. I kind of over did it huh?"

Everyone just stared at the blonde like he grew a second head, but he wasn't fazed by it.

Naruto walked amidst his audience as they weren't even there in the first place, except for a handful.

"I'll see you at home, Asuma-Otooji, Sarutobi-Ojiichan"

Within seconds, Naruto left the vicinity without even worrying about an eventual interrogation. He knew he would be answering them once the Hokage and Asuma arrived home. Kurenai was caught staring at the level of destruction one mere genin could cause and wondered how much stronger Naruto would be upon reaching the chuunin and jounin promotion.

"Okay, false alarm everyone. Anbu return to your station. The rest of you are dismissed. Asuma, Kurenai and Kakashi I'll expect to see your teams tomorrow for their first official missions. I just hope that Naruto maintains his control or I fear your team won't be receiving D-ranked missions Kurenai-san."

* * *

_**Author Note**_

_**Okay, for those who have yet to realize, Kyuubi in this fic is very similar to Darth Sideous in Star Wars. For those who already realized it, this was exactly my intention, although unlike any Sith, Naruto won't be using his powers for evil. Well, at least for those who don't deserve it, at least. **_

_**Also, a little poll will now be settled as I'm in doubt of his elemental affinity. Normally, I'd go for wind as the notion of black tornados and typhoons are too much to pass by. However, both fire and lightning are plausible elements to mix with meiton techniques, hence why I'm setting the poll with the following alternatives:**_

_**1. Fuuton (Wind Release) **_

_**2. Katon (Fire Release)**_

_**3. Raiton (Lightning Release)**_

_**Review this chapter and help me choose.**_

_**Until next chapter.**_


	8. First C Ranked Mission

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to the next chapter of Meshii.

Just so you know, I placed a poll last chapter regarding Naruto's chakra affinity and I gave three options. I've received a lot of good ideas for all three of them, but only one element will be used…for now.

Here are the results.

**Lightning – 15 votes**

Wind - 14 votes

Katon – 5 votes

As you can see, lightning won by one vote only. Both wind and lightning received a lot of good ideas, but for now I'll stick to a lightning affinity. It's much more fearful and it will fill Naruto's skill like a glove…not that wind wouldn't, but lightning is better for a dark Naruto. However, his affinity won't be revealed in the story for a while, since I've barely scratched the surface with Meiton. I have some technique that I wish to use and then and only then, will I focus on different ninjutsu skills for Naruto.

Now enjoy the next chapter of Meshii.

* * *

**Chapter 8 – First C-ranked Mission**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

Sarutobi Naruto figured that as soon as he graduated and joined a genin team, his ninja skills would catapult as he would get access to skills he couldn't when still an academy student.

However, while his team's sensei Kurenai taught the team a lot, baring from chakra control and genjutsu introduction, Naruto was fairly sure he was going to kill himself if anymore D-ranked missions were to be assigned to his team. At first, he was okay with the so called chores his uncle warned him about, however after mission after mission of baby-sitting, grocery shopping and dog walking, he was going nuts. Not to mention that damn cat. To many of the village population, Naruto was the demon reincarnated, the bane of existence, but the blond figured that title was already taken and by a cat no less.

Every time, he managed to catch the damn animal, it would slip and escape once more, before Shino's bugs managed to grab it and take it straight to its owner. What was worse was that every time his team managed to catch the cat, it didn't take two days before he heard that another team was drafted by the Hokage to catch it once more. Well, at least it wasn't his responsibility as he walked aimlessly towards Training Ground number 8 where he would meet with his team. Thinking of this last couple of months, Naruto could say he improved his relationship with his team. Their team work was flawless from the start seeing as all three of them possessed complementary skills, according to Kurenai-sensei.

Shino and Hinata didn't look at Naruto with fear anymore, even though Hinata still felt strange by looking straight into Naruto's lifeless eye sockets. Together, they were responsible for over twenty D-ranked missions, quite to the old man Sarutobi's pride as he feared in the beginning, that Naruto wouldn't be able to bond with his teammates. However, while he couldn't call Shino and Hinata his friends, certainly they behaved well as a team.

As Naruto arrived at the training ground, he greeted Kurenai-sensei and Shino, while waiting for the last member to arrive.

Hinata was the last to arrive, before Kurenai started talking.

"Okay team, the Hokage told me about Team 8's record of D-ranked missions and he will allow us our fist C-ranked mission."

The reactions to Kurenai's info were completely random. Shino just raised his eyebrow in surprise while Hinata smiled in pride. The Sarutobi Meiton user smiled as well, but it was different from Hinata's. Everyone knew about Naruto's sick nature regarding enemies, but seeing as he was completely loyal to those loyal to him, they didn't care much. The blond was considering the fact that his team would participate in tougher missions and may find tough opponents to test his skills against.

Kurenai looked at Naruto for a while, before sighing in dismay.

Naruto sure could be scary sometimes, but she was already used to his antics. In a way, the boy was like her friend Anko but with a male perspective.

"Okay, then, let's go to the Hokage's office and receive the mission, shall we?"

* * *

**===At the Hokage's Office===**

As soon as the team walked inside, they could see the Hokage's smile towards Naruto. It was common knowledge how much the old Sarutobi cared for his grandson, even if the boy was growing out to be one kick-ass assassin shinobi. But then again, isn't killing a part of a ninja's profession? At least, Hinata and Shino knew this much from their parents and from actually paying attention to the academy's teachings.

"Team 8 reporting for duty Hokage-sama…" Reported Kurenai, followed by a nod from the old man Sarutobi as he grabbed a scroll from the C-ranked pile.

"Ah Team 8, as promised, your team will receive its first C-ranked mission…nothing too dangerous so don't worry. Your team will receive the first information gathering assignment. A couple of days ago, a gang of thieves were reported stealing important shipments from the Fire Country Railroad Company. Your team must gather information or proof regarding whoever is doing this, before apprehending these criminals. A team of Anbu will be waiting for you once you manage to capture them."

As the Hokage briefed the team, Naruto was getting interested by the minute, but with his lifeless eyes it was almost impossible to read any kind of emotion.

"Kurenai-san, these kinds of missions will be your team's expertise in the future and while it's a simple information gathering assignment, it could turn out to be messy in case the thugs see anyone of you and retaliate. Your team is to leave tomorrow at 0800 hours. Dismissed…"

The team bowed to their kage and left the office with Kurenai saying that the team could have the day off in order to rest for tomorrow's mission. As the team left, Naruto remained behind to discuss something with the Hokage. Sarutobi Hiruzen noted that Naruto didn't leave the office, so it must mean something happened and he wished to discuss it. The man just hoped it wasn't another attack on his grandson's life based on past hatred of the Kyuubi no Yoko.

"Yes Naruto-kun, is there something you wish to talk about?" Asked Hiruzen, figuring Naruto was just waiting for the question.

"As a matter of fact there is, but don't worry…it's nothing about another attack so you can relax. Quite frankly, I don't know why you still bother about that stuff; no actually I was wondering what kind of weapon should I purchase?" The question kind of surprised Sarutobi as he knew Naruto to be rather vicious when 'protecting himself', but he asked nonetheless.

"Oh and what would you need a weapon for if I may ask?" Naruto figured he could come up with an excuse for having access to dangerous weapons, but he figured it would be pointless to lie to his grandfather and Hokage.

"I read about different swords there are today and I was interested in learning about the art of kenjutsu. So what type of sword would be better for me? A ninjato, a kodashi, perhaps a katana?"

Sarutobi took a moment to contemplate the situation a bit before giving advice to his grandson.

He was a genin now and he had the right to choose which art to focus on. Nevertheless, Sarutobi wanted to reduce the possibility of blood staining the green of Konoha as much as possible and as such, he knew what to do concerning Naruto's request. He happened to know a friend who is a master at forging different types of swords and the one he had in mind had a reversed blade. At least this way Naruto wouldn't go out there slicing people.

"Well, Naruto considering that you're a ninja and speed is your focus, I'd say a kodashi will work better. However, in order to keep the killing spree to a low minimal, I will suggest you acquire a reversed blade kodashi." At Naruto's bewildered look, Sarutobi explained. "You're a ninja now Naruto-kun and I know not everyone that attacks you is shinobi. Some of them are civilians and while I know you don't raise a finger to them, which I thank Kami for, it's not wise to have a cutting weapon nearby."

Naruto displayed an amused grin at the Hokage's message to him.

"Don't worry Oji-chan; I won't kill everyone, although they very well deserve it in my book. So, a reversed blade kodashi, you know where I can purchase one of those?"

"Old Akido-san's store has plenty you could choose from…they are a bit expensive though, so you could put on my tab if you so wish…" Sarutobi said, but Naruto shook his head before turning his back to his grandfather.

"It's not a problem Oji-chan, with the D-ranked mission's income; I have plenty to acquire a reasonable one. See ya Oji-chan." Naruto said, before a sudden dark aura surrounded the blond and the next second he was gone, leaving the old man alone with his thoughts.

* * *

**===At night===**

It took longer than expected to pick a suitable kodashi, Naruto thought as he jumped through rooftops towards his clan's compound.

He knew the shop owner didn't have anything against him nor the Kyuubi, so everything transpired without a problem. Old Akido-san showed next to ten different kodashis, with different handles and colors. Sure, Naruto was blind and although his chakra no myaku technique allowed him next to perfect eyesight, it lacked the ability to regard all the vivid colors Mother Nature created.

It took a while to pick the one, but in the end Naruto managed to find one. Its handle wrap was dark navy blue and the blond felt something upon placing his hand around it for the first time. He mused that this must have been the feeling of every swordsman with his or her weapon. With it, they would feel complete; without it nothing would be able to compensate. Slicing the air a bit while inside Akido's shop, Naruto was surprised that the kodashi was quite heavy. Akido explained that the metal used to forge this type of sword was more resilient, thus heavier than the one used for regular blades.

Now that he acquired a new sword, it was time to learn how to wield the weapon. Maybe even ask someone or find a suitable scroll for him to study, Braille written of course. As Naruto opened the door to his home, he was greeted by his little brother Konohamaru, who came running at Naruto's left leg, before enveloping his tiny arms around it, much to Naruto's chuckle. Very few people managed to get that reaction out of him as he felt his power diminishing by the warm feeling he was getting from his little brother. The blond patted Konohamaru on his head, before walking with him towards the kitchen where their mother was preparing dinner for tonight. The woman, for her part, realized both her sons' presence and smiled.

"Hello Naruto-kun, please call everyone, dinner is almost ready."

"Okay Kaa-san…"

It didn't take long before the entire Sarutobi Family sat on the considerably large dinner table as Asuma and Hiruzen started their usually heated discussions regarding the position of the Hokage and the Fire Daimyou within Fire Country. Politics, Naruto mused as he ate his Teppan Yaki quietly so not to disturb anyone. There was one thing that the blond had an addiction for and it was noodles in general. Every food that had noodles, he enjoyed. Ramen, Tsukemen, Teppan Yaki, he ate everything Mikoto placed on his plate, as long as noodles were in as well.

It didn't take long for dinner to be over as everyone went to their respective beds with a final word shared between Hiruzen and Naruto about the important step the boy will be taking tomorrow regarding his first C-ranked mission. The Hokage emphasized a lot to Naruto regarding the importance of teamwork out there and that he needed to protect his teammates no matter what the cost. Of course, Naruto knew that as he trained constantly on perfecting his defensive technique to the point that the dark barrier technique took less time to appear, but of course he focused more on his new **Gen Meiton** (dark illusion) techniques that he created with Kurenai-sensei's help.

* * *

**===Next day===**

As usual, Kurenai was the first one to arrive at her team's designated spot. She liked it this way; it showed that she was a stickler for rules and timing. Her team didn't take more than ten minutes to arrive, though, as she noticed Naruto and Shino approaching her position pretty much the same time. Kurenai wondered about the beautiful sword strapped on Naruto's back. She thought about questioning him about it, but she thought better. Naruto has a mind of his own when it comes to his skills.

She would teach him only the abilities he _asks_ her to.

Hinata arrived soon after and the team headed towards Fire Country's Railroad Corporation in order to meet their client, the company's CEO and Chairman Hitaki. He'd be the one guiding the team towards the railroad and giving the necessary details. The company building wasn't far from Konoha, taking only fifteen to twenty minutes for Team 8 to arrive at the huge glass building in front of them. The Fire Country's Railroad Corporation was one of Fire Country's most important companies, responsible for almost half of the Fire Lord's income by operating trade lines with other countries.

Upon entrance, the ninja team saw everyone running like crazy wearing suits. It was a clear pandemonium inside the company, but Kurenai figured that the reason was because of the smuggling that'd been going on lately. This company's business should be considered safe for merchants to trade their goods with other countries and if they lose trust in the company, it wouldn't take long before the place was reduced to bankruptcy.

"Ah the team from Konoha I requested, fancy meeting you here so soon. I was actually expecting you to take another hour or so."

The team turned to meet the speaker, they saw a middle-aged man with gray suit and a pair or dark glasses. Hitaki wore a confident smile on his face, while at the same time, ogling Kurenai like a damn pervert. However, she maintained business composure and addressed the client.

"Hitaki-san, I'd like to introduce you to my team, before we begin the mission specs, if it's okay with you…" the client nodded so Kurenai continued. "First is Aburame Shino, next to him is Hyuuga Hinata and the blond one with green eyes, is Sarutobi Naruto. I am Yuhi Kurenai and we are Team 8 at your service." Hitaki nodded, although Kurenai could feel that he never took his eyes off her chest area. Naruto, for his part, was focusing his attention on the client and wondered why his heart beat was so fast.

"It's my pleasure to be of acquaintance, now please follow me while I explain what's been happening so far. Our company takes great pride in complete safety of the trade routes. We are responsible for approximately sixty percent of our Daimyou-sama's income as our line of work involves the facilitation and transportation of many trades involving two or even three countries. As such the Fire Country Railroad is the sole logistics company within Fire Country and people expect nothing but perfection in what we do. However, lately some shipments were robbed and needless to say; one of our clients wasn't entirely thrilled. The man demanded reparations and of course, the company gave it to him."

The team nodded at the explanation so far, but Hinata called the man's attention.

"Excuse me Hitaki-san, but why would the company pay for something they didn't cause?"

"As a profitable business, we are responsible for great incomes, but we are also responsible for the losses. The client hands their goods to us, expecting it to be delivered to the right destination. If something happens, it's our responsibility regardless if the goods are stolen or destroyed. It's the company's policy Hinata-san" Hitaki smiled as they doubled a corner where lot of workers could be seen typing in their laptops like it was the end of the world.

"Not to mention the fact that it wouldn't be profitable for the company to lose an important client." As Naruto spoke; the man suddenly frowned at the blond boy, before smiling back at the team.

"That little one sure knows a thing or two about business. Well, as I was saying, the last couple days, our goods are being stolen and our clients are losing interest in hiring our services."

Kurenai nodded as she understood the situation.

"Say Hitaki-san, we will need information regarding which railroad route the thefts are occurring at and their schedule as well. It's imperative that we begin right away, otherwise the company's mistrust will spread, possibly reaching Daimyou-sama's ears." Hitaki nodded and gave a briefcase to Kurenai, which contained all the necessary data for Team 8 to initiate their assignment.

"Right ahead of you Kurenai-san, in this briefcase there is everything you need to know. The routes where the robbery occurred and the time each train left our station here in Fire Country. Well, I have a meeting with a new client that wants to hire us for an important shipment to Earth Country, better not keep him waiting. I trust that your team Kurenai-san can capture these thieves and bring them to justice, otherwise I fear this company will meet its end prematurely."

Kurenai nodded as the Company's CEO marched towards the tower elevator.

Immediately, she turned to Naruto and noticed he kept his attention focused on Hitaki, until the elevator door closed.

"Naruto, is there anything wrong?"

"Something is wrong with the way Hitaki acts around us. His heart beat was fast for someone who needs to remain in control all the time."

"Don't worry about him for now, let's just stick with the info contained inside this briefcase and establish our strategy. Now, I managed to read a few documents. The thieves are concentrating their aim in one specific route, the one that leads to Water Country. According to this logistics report, the train left the station at ten o'clock at night, arriving at Water Country's station at one in the morning. This train never stops, so the thieves must possess some sort of ninja training to infiltrate a moving vehicle. We'll follow the track route. It shouldn't take long, seeing as the theft occurred inside Fire Country's territory."

"What makes you so sure it happened inside Fire Country? According to this paper, the route is one hundred miles long" Shino was the one who asked, but Kurenai responded.

"We don't have any authority over thefts occurred in Water Country, so I'm presuming that the thefts occurred inside Fire Country. It's not to say I'm a hundred percent sure, though. Now, here's the plan. Naruto and Hinata will run through the entire route and pinpoint all possible places for the thief to hide or wait for the train. I know that these areas are surrounded by mountains and lakes. Shino and I will get a feel of the company's security personnel. Hitaki-san gave me a contact card of the Head of Security"

The team nodded and divided in two pairs with Naruto and Hinata finding the route's station, while Shino and Kurenai went to the Head of Security's office.

* * *

**===At night===**

Once Naruto and Hinata returned, the entire team met inside one of the company's meeting rooms in order to discuss their findings. Kurenai had one considerably sized map of the route in question, as both Naruto and Hinata pinpointed the possible places for adducting the goods. According to Hinata, there were five possible places for someone with genin level speed to infiltrate the train and steal the goods inside. Naruto, though, discarded two of them seeing as their location made it impossible for any sane person to jump inside the train and not get killed in the process.

Kurenai and Shino nodded, before the jounin focused the team's attention of the three places.

"The head of security wasn't able to provide us with much information. He told that every train has its own group of security guard and not one of them saw the thieves, however being a genjutsu specialist, I know it's easy to fool them with low level illusions. So, in other words, the thieves had ninja training and quite possibly, genjutsu skills as well. Tomorrow, we'll head to the places Naruto and Hinata pinpointed and catch these thieves once and for all."

The team nodded, before they moved to the company hotel located near the company building to sleep.

As soon as they left, Hitaki appeared inside the meeting room and smiled a bit, before returning to his office. It was already late and the man doubted anyone was still working. He closed the door to his office and saw a kind of communication device ringing next to his computer. Picking it up and placing it on his right ear, Hitaki greeted the caller.

"Hitaki here…"

"I heard Konoha sent a team to investigate the thefts. Are you sure we are okay?" The voice was strong, but loaded with fear. It belonged to a strong man but apparently fearful of Hitaki as he was calling the shots from afar.

"No worries Hideaki-san. With the exception of the hot jounin, the rest are mere children with sharpened toys. Our plan is soundproof, that I assure you. Now, tomorrow another shipment will reach Water Country by midnight. Be sure to steal everything there is inside. This is the last shipment necessary for people to completely mistrust this damn company and take their business elsewhere." The smile was present on the man's face as he heard his subordinate acknowledge the order and cutting the link.

The man picked up his jacket and left the office never once losing the smile on his face.

Once the door closed and the lights were off, a shadow suddenly appeared from within a small genjutsu his sensei taught him. Naruto smiled as his guess was proven correct. However, he needed to lure Hitaki, because otherwise, the man would escape free and see the company bankrupt with that damn smile on his face. Opening the office window, Naruto jumped down the immense building, before attaching his feet to the structure, safely running towards the ground, before jumping towards a nice set of trees. He headed for the hotel his team was staying at and noticed that Shino was awake inside the room they shared.

"So what did you find out?" Asked the Aburame genin, as Naruto, quietly, walked inside the room.

"Enough to know who's behind this little scheme, now let's rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day for us…" Shino nodded, before both went to sleep.

* * *

**===Next day===**

Seeing that the train wouldn't leave for another two hours, Team 8 gathered along with Hitaki in order to tell the man their findings so far. On the outside, the man was hearing Kurenai's explanation about the spots where they will hide, but inside he was smiling at the innocence of the girl, telling him everything. It allowed him to better cover his plan, by informing his goons about Konoha's plan. After he left, Naruto reached Kurenai and decided a best course of action.

"Kurenai-sensei, I believe it's wiser to follow a different strategy here…" Naruto suggested with his arms crossed, like he was bored.

"These spots were chosen by you Naruto, why the sudden change of faith?"

"Covering those areas me and Hinata pinpointed is fine and all, but I believe we could cover more ground if we went along with the cargo. Instead of tracking the thieves, let them come to us."

Kurenai listened to her subordinate's idea and actually saw merit in it. Though she was wondering about the sudden change of heart, but she went along with it. Naruto may be young and inexperienced, but with his skills, he could detect things no one could and she would capitalize on this.

"Okay Naruto, we'll do things your way, hopefully we get to catch the villain here…"

* * *

**===With the Train===**

The train heading to Wave Country left the station at the designated time and the shinobi from Team 8 quickly tagged along on top of it, while maintaining an invisibility genjutsu. This train happened to carry almost one hundred million ryu in goods and it meant a lot to the company that the client received the cargo. So, in every case inside the train a tracker bug was located, in order for the team to track the stolen goods.

Its speed was impressive, but the team managed to stick their feet to it, because of their impressive chakra control.

Half an hour later, Team 8 saw the thieves at one of the places Naruto and Hinata pinpointed. As the train passed, the group of three individuals jumped and used chakra to stick to the train, before opening the window and entering inside the convoy where the goods were located. In little time, all the cases were thrown outside the train as the thieves left the place, never once noticing the group on top of the train. Kurenai managed to identify one of the thieves as C-ranked missing-nin from Konoha named Hotaru. The man deserted Konoha after failing in killing an important official linked to the Fire Daimyou. Now, he's stealing from the most profitable company located within Fire Country's territory.

"Shino, where are the goods being taken?"

The Aburame focused on a single hand sign, starting his communication link with the bugs located inside the cases.

"A few miles west from our position Kurenai-sensei" the sensei nodded, before the team jumped from the train as they started running towards the location, while Hinata's Byakugan was attentive to any traps just in case Hotaru knew he would be followed.

As they approached the position, the group spotted a wooden cottage in the middle of nowhere. The light was on and everyone could see four shadows inside, instead of the three that stole the goods, much to everyone but Naruto's surprise. He knew who the forth shadow belonged to as Kurenai instructed her team for the infiltration.

"Naruto, you'll be the one to use the technique I taught you. Hinata will be responsible for taking them out."

The team nodded, before Naruto and Hinata charged the cottage while unseen by the shadows inside. As the pair stopped in front of the front door, Naruto opened it slightly without making a single sound. Hitaki's voice could be heard and Hinata was surprised to hear the man that hired Konoha here of all places, but the smile on Naruto's face told her that somehow he already knew about that. Starting a long series of hand seals, Naruto focused on his dark chakra.

**Gen Meiton Kokuangyou** (Dark Illusion: Journey into Black Darkness Jutsu)

Instantly, shouts from inside echoed throughout the clearing as Hinata worked her magic with her jyuuken, sending three guys to unconscious, while Hitaki wondered what the hell was going on.

Just as the lights appeared once more, the man was surprised to see the hot woman from Konoha looking at him with her arms crossed and next to her, was her three little genins. The bodies of his subordinates were on the ground, unconscious and he knew an excuse was needed right away, but before he could open his mouth, a bunch of bugs surrounded his body as Kurenai opened her mouth.

"At first, I was wondering what you're doing here Hitaki-san, but then Naruto here related to me how you were the master mind behind this entire operation. You wanted to frame the company and send it to bankruptcy. Your motive is not yet clear, but that's not our goal here. Our goal was to stop the stealing and we did just that. Now, you're coming with us to Konoha. The Hokage will deal with you." The look on the man's face was proof enough that he was screwed, all because of a small brat that kept his damn nose in something that wasn't his business in the first place.

* * *

**===At Konoha===**

Once Hitaki was delivered to the Anbu team stationed near Konoha, they handed him to the Capitol's Police who arrested Hitaki for his crimes against the company. Hotaru and his crew was captured and killed, seeing as they were criminals, but this was kept from the team who arrested them, since none of them knew the dirty aspects of what their job would entail in the future, but the mission was completed nonetheless.

Now, the team stood in front of the Hokage as the old man smirked with satisfaction at the mission well done.

"Congratulations Team 8, the mission was carried out with extreme efficiency as is expected from your team Kurenai-san. I've just read the report and while it's risky business to investigate Hitaki-san, it proved to be the smart thing to do. Sometimes, the client hides information from us and the mission becomes a liability because of it. It's good that your team managed to uncover the truth in time. In the end, the perpetrator was caught and brought to justice. Nice work…"

The team nodded before leaving the office with their paychecks. They were dismissed for the day but not before the Hokage threw a scroll in Naruto's direction. He took the scroll totally by reflex, before passing his finger through it. Every time his grandfather gave him something to read, it was written in Braille and this was not an exception.

"You wanted to have a sword and you acquired one with the reversed blade. I so happen to know of a style you could learn, it's an ancient one called **Hanma Dageki** (Hammer Strike) and it suits the weapon you chose. Now, take a read and tell me what you think later on"

Naruto nodded and left the office, heading straight home where he would read the scroll all day.

* * *

**===Next day===**

Hatake Kakashi could be called a patient man as he followed behind his team of genin.

The three little ones in front of him were certainly skilled for their age as two of them happened to be the next generation of two of Konoha's clans, Uchiha and Inuzuka. Sasuke was a genius, skilled just like his brother except for the whole killing his clan thing. Kiba was brash, but he had talent in the taijutsu department, as did everyone in his clan. Sakura, the brains of the team, had excellent chakra control and is very adept at genjutsu techniques.

However, looking at them, the man couldn't help but remember what a pain it is to be their jounin sensei. Sakura was always pestering Sasuke for dates while the broody child waved her off the entire time. Kiba, at first, was the only normal one, but the problem began when Sasuke started treating the Inuzuka as a rival. Now both of them kept pestering each other for spars. Also the fact that both of them whined to him about the torture of D-ranked missions pretty much got on his damn nerves.

Right now, the team was heading to the Hokage's office as they would hopefully get their first C-ranked mission.

* * *

**===At the Hokage's Office===**

Once everyone stopped in front of the Hokage, Kakashi reported the team's presence, earning a smile from the aged Sarutobi, before he grabbed Team 7's next mission.

"AH Team 7, okay…let me see the missions for today. Ah…babysitting Yamanaka Inoichi's niece, shopping groceries for…"

"NO!" Shouted Kiba, gathering the attention of everyone as he complained about the doing those damn chores known as D-ranked missions. Sasuke remained quiet, though his thoughts were similar to the brash Inuzuka. Sakura wanted nothing more than do whatever Sasuke wanted to do and Kakashi, well, he didn't care one way or another. Sarutobi Hiruzen, for his part, smiled at the little joke he made and remembered to share it with his grandson Konohamaru.

"Relax Kiba-kun; I believe it's high time your team started on the C-ranked missions. Please come in Tazuna-san…" Sarutobi called, as an old man with glasses entered the room, while holding a bottle of sake. The strong scent of alcohol was evident as Sakura had to protect her nose from exhaling it. Smiling, Sarutobi continued to explain the details of the mission. "Tazuna-san here requested a team to escort him back to his home in Wave Country. This will be Team 7's first C-ranked mission"

"I hired a team of shinobi, not a gathering of little brats. What protection could they offer to me?" Asked Tazuna, much to Kiba and Sasuke's displeasure, but Kakashi convinced the man about this team's skills and the fact that he was a jounin, Tazuna would be safe under his watch. This alone settled Tazuna's mind as he left the office with the condition that he went to the West Gate tomorrow morning.

Now that the client was out, Sarutobi started addressing the team in front of him.

"Now Kakashi, I wanted to discuss some important things to the team about this mission. Yesterday, Team 8 got their first C-ranked mission and something happened that could happen to everyone. Don't worry, the mission ended as a success and no one died. The problem was that it was discovered that the very client withhold information from us, almost costing us dearly. Because of this, I've been running some analysis on Tazuna's claim in Wave Country." Sarutobi had their full attention as he continued the explanation. "According to Tazuna, the only ones after him are bandits and thugs. However, I have reason to believe said information to be false, hence why another team will tag along on this mission."

Before Kiba could protest, Sarutobi proceeded with the explanation.

"Sometimes Kiba-kun, one little misinformation could cost lives and it's my job to protect my shinobi with the best of my ability. So, placing two jounins and three more genins, this mission has less chance of failing and possibly, less chance of any casualties. Plus, Team 8 is trained to investigate clues not easily detected, so if the client is lying, we'll be better prepared for anything. Kakashi, do you have anything to add?"

"Nothing Hokage-sama, I guess. Do you need me to call Kurenai-san's team and tell them?"

"Please do my friend. Team 7 dismissed…"

* * *

**===Next day===**

Sasuke and Kiba arrived at the gate pretty much the same time, both wanting to beat the other in arriving at the gate. However, Naruto and Shino were already there as the two shared a conversation about something. Upon looking at the blond, Sasuke shivered. Just like Hinata, Sasuke's clan focused exclusively on their doujutsu the Sharingan. He couldn't imagine how his life would be if he lost his eyes. Without it, he couldn't use the only weapon he was counting on against his brother and so, he wouldn't be able to fulfill his revenge.

It wasn't to say he considered Sarutobi Naruto an equal. He still has his family, after all.

Naruto, for his part, sensed Sasuke and Kiba's approach, but continued the conversation with Shino. One aspect of Naruto's academy program was the lack of any friends or even colleagues. No one approached him and vice-versa. Of course there were some like Kiba who tried bullying Naruto once…just once. Just by remembering the little Inuzuka whining like a little puppy because of his chakra sonar technique pretty much sufficed for the entire academy.

In no time, Kurenai, Hinata and Kakashi arrived along with Tazuna, starting the mission escort to Wave Country.

* * *

**Author Note**

That's it for now.

Tell me what you think and see you next chapter.


	9. Demon vs Demon Part I

_**Author Note**_

Hello there once more and welcome to another chapter of Meshii.

As I said before, I'm focusing all my available time in updating the new stories like 'Cursed Eyes', 'Meshii', 'Regret' and 'After the Storm'. After updating those four, I'll focus some chapters on 'Full Moon'.

I'd like to take this time and appreciate everyone for the excellent reviews regarding all my stories so far (with the exception of those whose only motive is to mock…).

Now last chapter, after Naruto's team returned from a successful C-ranked mission towards the country's capital, the Sandaime Hokage assigned both Team 7 and 8 a new C-ranked mission, regarding the protection of the bridge builder Tazuna from regular bandits. That's right; the Wave Arc begins, though, with some twists.

Check it out!

* * *

_**Chapter 9 – Demon vs. Demon Part I**_

_**Beta: Kyuubi123**_

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After all members of the teams and the client arrived at the gate, the group began their travel towards Wave Country. Everyone, so far, was quiet, just walking along like nothing was happening. Team 8 was a coordinated unit, setting their position around Tazuna, placing him in the middle of a triangle like defense. Team 7, on the other hand, was a mess. Sakura did nothing but fawn at Sasuke, quite expecting him to turn his head to her and maybe complement her on her looks or even ask her for a date. Kiba, for his part, was a few meters ahead of the entire group, using his highly sensitive nose in order to sniff out enemies' presences hidden behind the trees.

Kakashi and Kurenai were at the back, watching their respective charges.

Both of them wondered about the Hokage's suspicions regarding this mission. Looking at Tazuna, both realized that while something appeared wrong, but they couldn't place it. Though, their battle instincts were saying not to trust appearances. Tazuna looked like a regular civilian that no ninja would ever want to cause him harm. The man said that only bandits and thugs would be after him, because of his job as a constructor. However, the man was old. What was the reason for hiring a team of shinobi to protect him in the first place? For now, they could only guess and prepare for the inevitable. The Hokage placed two teams on this mission for a reason and neither jounin would take lightly. Naruto, on the other hand, could hear Tazuna's frenzy heart beating and knew something was amiss in this situation. The Hokage was right…he was the best polygraph machine ever. Since he was up front, just behind Kiba, he could react faster and protect the man from harm when the time came. So far, though, nothing happened and the group had already travelled quite a distance from Konoha.

Deciding that was enough of pestering Sasuke, Sakura became curious about something…

"Say Tazuna-san, does Wave Country have a shinobi village as well?" The man was wondering about his options of arriving home unscathed when the question came.

"No, my country is super poor. My hope is that with the bridge linking Wave to Fire Country, we can establish new trades with our neighbors, thus increasing our economy" The question seemed to satisfy Sakura's curiosity for the time being.

A few more minutes passed when the group spotted two puddles of water right in front of them. The jounins saw it immediately and looked at each other, nodding. This would serve as both a test for the genins and for the client. A few of the genins saw as well, but all of them were part of Team 8. Hinata's bloodline was activated and she could see the hidden ninjas below ground. Shino sensed them through his bugs and Naruto sensed them through his other senses. However, none of them needed to wait long as the ninjas emerged from the puddle of water, before trapping both Kakashi and Kurenai with their chains. The demon brothers pulled the chain hard and ripped their bodies to shreds, shocking Sakura, upon seeing two jounin level shinobi being killed like that.

The demon brothers chuckled at their easy kill and proceeded to charge towards Tazuna, however Naruto was already doing hand seals, before any of the genins managed to move in retaliation.

_**Meiton Jiongu**__ (Dark Element: Dark Tendrils Technique)_

The black tendrils rose from the ground and grabbed the two brothers instantly, surprising them since they didn't even see the blond making hand seals. The Demon Brothers snarled at the kid, just as Kakashi and Kurenai appeared behind the stunned Sakura.

While she wondered what happened, Naruto simply appeared in front of them and chuckled at their pathetic attempt to escape from the tendrils.

"No matter how much you fight against it, the tendrils will squeeze your bones until you're both dead. You're just wasting some precious minutes to live by moving around…" True to Naruto's word, they tried to fight their way out of the tendrils, but only resulted in them being squeezed harder and by then, everyone could hear the ribs breaking and blood pouring from the open wounds. Shino, Hinata and Kurenai were somehow getting used to Naruto's _evil _tendencies towards enemies, but this was the first time Team Seven saw it. Sakura did everything she could to stop looking at the scene and hearing their screams, while every rib and bones started breaking. Kiba snarled at the cruelty, while Sasuke twitched his eyes upon seeing everything. Immediately, memories of his clan being murdered filled his mind as the screaming continued. Kakashi had enough, though, as he placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, ushering him to stop. Although he was used to killing enemies, he never laid eyes on something like this. He wondered if Naruto wouldn't mind spending some time with Anko and Ibiki, torturing criminals.

The blond shrugged and released the tendrils, freeing the demon brothers who were now having trouble breathing because of their many broken ribs. Naruto did quite a number on them, but in the end it gave an edge to Kakashi as he started to question them as to why they attacked. They were hesitant at first, but any indication of a second attack like that convinced them to tell that both of they were hired by Gato to kill the bridge builder, causing Kakashi to glare at the client for withholding information on them. After that, the demon brothers fainted because of the pain. Kakashi told Kurenai to call in for an Anbu team in order to capture them and send them back to Konoha for further questioning the Hokage wished to perform.

"Okay Tazuna, by all right I should cancel this mission seeing as you deliberately withheld information from us…give me one good reason why I shouldn't just take my team and go back to Konoha?"

The old man felt seven different stares directed at him. He didn't know why the hell the blond kid wasn't looking at him as well, but he shrugged it off and focused on the leader of this mission. He figured that by now, his options were close to none, so now it was the time to tell the truth and appeal to these kind ninjas' good hearts. He was still curious about the blond, though he didn't know why. "It's true, I lied about the mission and for that I beg you for forgiveness. Wave Country is poor, thus I could only afford a C-ranked mission. A long time ago, Wave was a prosperous region, we didn't have much, but no one bothered us back then. It all changed when Gato decided to establish his main activities" The name rang a bell to both Kakashi and Kurenai, but they stood waiting for the old man to finish explaining. "He is a low level human being, who profits from criminal activities. Slavery, murder, drug dealing…you name it. With his power bought by his money, he now controls the entire country. With the completion of my bridge, Fire Country will be united with Wave Country and his control over our economy will cease to exist"

The reason seemed valid to some of the genins, except Shino and Naruto.

The Aburame, whose way of thinking always favored pure logic, wondered if Wave Country's situation would be better handled by an appeal directly to the Daimyou or even telling the truth to the Hokage. Naruto, for his part, snorted at the man's explanation and walked away, not interested in whatever Kakashi's choice would be. He just settled down in front of a tree and took a seat. Kakashi turned to think for a bit. This was one occasion he truly hated. Okay, Gato was an evil businessman with enough money to purchase even an S-ranked criminal and sent the man to kill the bridge builder. Not to mention the fact that he had fresh out of the academy genins to protect.

Kakashi's visage wasn't helping Tazuna's case one bit, so he decided to appeal some more.

"Okay then, I understand. I guess I'll never get to see my lovely daughter anymore" Everybody's eyes started twitching; even Shino lifted his eyebrow at this.

"Also, I'll never get to spend some time with my grandson, seeing as by the time I arrive in Wave, I'll be dead…He'll probably hate Konoha for the rest of his life, but that's okay"

If possible, everyone's eyes just twitched even more. Kakashi and Kurenai, for their part, only sighed in dismay at being backed into a corner. They just couldn't abandon the old man. Naruto, though, just laughed and got up from his rather comfortable spot. He knew the choice even before Kakashi actually voiced. It wasn't in Konoha's nature to deny a person in dire need, plus it wouldn't bode well for the village's reputation if the team backed down upon facing tough situations. The others were okay with either decision, but Sakura was still shaking from the encounter with the demon brothers. Problem was that while she managed to hide it from the others, as the group travelled, she couldn't slow her heart beat to normal levels and it sounded like drums to one blind shinobi. Therefore, he left formation for a while, walking slowly until the pink haired genin approached his position.

"If I were you, I'd talk to Kakashi-sensei about it. You're scared right now. Your heart is beating faster than a set of drums…" Sakura was surprised that Naruto would pick up something like this. She knew about his case and always wondered how the hell he became a genin without his sight to aid him.

Still, by doing so, she would admit that she was weak and therefore, unworthy of Sasuke's attention. Looking around, she swallowed her fear, knowing that not only Sasuke, but also two jounins were there with them. They would protect her, in case something happened.

The blond figured that he did what he was supposed to do. He warned the girl. After that, he went back to his old formation just behind Kiba. Kakashi, though, watched the scene in front of him and smiled at the blond for his concern over his genin. Kurenai, as the blond's sensei, could honestly say that she knew a thing or two about her charge. She knew how acute Naruto's hearing was, but so far she never saw the blond going out of his way to aid another shinobi, who wasn't a part of his team. Unknown to both of them, the blond's motives were completely different. He just didn't wish to be in a tough situation, because Sakura was in over her head, by accompanying the group without saying that she wasn't ready to face the situation.

As they walked, Sasuke kept sending glares at Naruto on occasions. He, for the life of him, couldn't understand how someone could move that fast without using his eyes. Back at the fight against the missing ninjas from Kirigakure, the blond performed his ninjutsu even before any of the genin managed to move in retaliation. So far, only his brother reached the same level of speed and Itachi was considered an S-ranked shinobi. Also, what he learned from Naruto's ninjutsu troubled him. Meiton, according to his clan's archives, was considered one of the most rare chakra elements in existence. According to an ancient book he'd read, the last shinobi who possessed said skill died fifty years ago. Also, another thing that bothered him was that technique's brutality…the screams were still echoing in his mind. Also, during the entire time, Sasuke swore that Naruto was _enjoying_ every bit of it. He shrugged it off, trying not to think about it because of the mission. Still, something inside of him considered the blond an even better rival than Kiba, someone better to measure his skills against.

After two hours, the group arrived at the river shore as a rowing boat was waiting for them.

"Tazuna-san, I was beginning to think you were a goner"

The old man appreciated his friend's help, before Tazuna and the Konoha shinobi joined as well. The heavy mist managed to hide their presence from many of Gato's ships. The only man standing on the boat managed to take the group as quietly as possible. Eventually, the other side became visible and the group could see a huge bridge, apparently half finished. Kiba was the one that voiced everyone's thoughts with a _holy shit…it's huge. _His actions caused Sakura to smash his head with a punch, ushering him to stop screaming so not to alert anyone. The boat managed to dock at Wave Country's side and Tazuna thanked his friend for the immense help.

Afterward, they started travelling by foot once more.

On this side of the forest, the trees were much bigger, due to being closer to the ocean, thus more exposed to the basic nutrients. This single fact made their trip harder as enemies could come from anywhere. Hinata's Byakugan wasn't helping much, because of the heavy mist. Even the blond's chakra pulse technique proved to be inefficient right now. Without it, Naruto was truly blind and he didn't like this situation. His other senses were his only hope of knowing what was happening around him. His sense of smell allowed him to maintain some level of distance over his teammates and the trees ahead of him. His acute hearing managed to capture the many sounds of nature, including the beating hearts and working lungs of everyone around him.

Suddenly, a small pitched noise entered the field of his senses.

It was similar to a small breeze of wind which would slowly increase its volume. In time, Naruto managed to compare it to a boomerang. A sudden click alerted his mind to danger as he remembered that boomerangs could be used as a ninja weapon…a deadly one, seeing as its trajectory was quite troublesome to anticipate. When the noise was pretty much irritating his ears, Naruto figured that it must be close and they only had a couple more seconds before the weapon reached the group and sliced everyone in half. He didn't even need to wait for Kakashi to scream for everyone to get on the ground, before he lunged at the direction he knew Tazuna was and threw him on the ground. The blond almost had to cover his ears from the high pitched noise caused by the weapon as it got lodged in a tree nearby.

"Well…well…if isn't the copycat ninja Sharingan no Kakashi. No wonder the Demon Brothers lost so easily" Said the newcomer, as he stepped on top of his sword. His clothes were down to a bare minimal, with ocean blue pants and couple of white arm and leg warmers filled with black dots.

Kakashi was the first to recognize the man and cursed his current situation. Sasuke, however, was shocked by how this stranger addressed his sensei and wondered what he meant by Sharingan no Kakashi. As far as he was concerned, everyone in the clan, except for him and his brother, was dead.

"Momochi Zabuza, Kirigakure's A-ranked missing-nin, for staging a coup d'état against the Mizukage"

He knew that they would encounter heavy forces up ahead, but he didn't expect to face a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Kakashi conjured a mental note to say thank you to the Hokage for sending in two genin teams instead of just one to this mission. With Kurenai by his side, he would manage to face Zabuza with a powerful genjutsu ally for support. Not to mention that his genins would provide protection to the client, meaning he wouldn't need to worry about fighting Zabuza and protecting the client at the same time. Kakashi flinched once Zabuza jumped towards the lake behind him, holding a single ram seal. They were in Zabuza's turf now. The Demon of the Hidden Mist was always praised for the method he used to execute his enemies, called the silent killing technique. Not to mention the fact that he was a master with suiton ninjutsu. The scarecrow jounin would have to use everything he had against Momochi Zabuza. Quickly scanning his options, he decided to lay out his plan.

_I'll have to use the Sharingan from the start…_Thought Kakashi as he lifted his hitai-ate to show both his eyes, one black and the other red with three tomes.

"Okay, the genins will protect the client. Kurenai, you will back me up against Zabuza. Use every available genjutsu in your arsenal"

Everyone just nodded, while the genins surrounded the client. However, as soon as they started focusing on their assignments, the mist, which was already dense, now pretty much blinded everyone's sight.

A voice suddenly echoed all around, giving everyone the sensation of fear induced by Zabuza's ruthless but effective method of killing.

"There are eight spots that can grant me quick and precise kills…the larynx, spinal column, lungs, liver, jugular vein, subclavian artery, kidneys and the heart…which one will it be?" The following laughter sent chills to some of the genins as well as Tazuna. Naruto, however, smirked as he could feel his power rising just by sensing other's negative emotions. He now managed to send stronger bursts of chakra in order to see as much of the enemy as possible. So far, the man was in the middle of the lake. He cursed, though, when Zabuza vanished from sight and appeared right in between the group, all but ready to finish Tazuna with his cleaver sword. Everyone was surprised at the speed, but Kakashi was the only one that managed to move in time, thrusting a kunai into Zabuza. The Demon of the Hidden Mist wondered how Kakashi managed to predict his movements, but he performed a quick water kawarimi and appeared behind Kakashi to slice him in two with his sword.

He managed to hit, but Kakashi did the same thing, bursting into water.

Zabuza was about to charge at Kakashi's location when he sensed the world around him twirl, making him dizzy. Being an experienced ninja Zabuza, he managed to acquire a bit of skill in quickly dispelling genjutsu. He got a hold of his chakra long enough to dodge from Kakashi's lighting technique. He, then, flipped and managed to land a kick on Kakashi, who despite absorbing the kick with his arms, were sent flying towards the lake. Kurenai decided to move in and stall the man until Kakashi got out of the water, but Zabuza was having none of that and summoned a nice army of Mizu Bunshins; half of them to deal with Kurenai, while the rest went after Tazuna and the genins.

Kurenai managed to defend herself against their share of bunshins, but the genins were having trouble. Shino and Sasuke went up ahead and attack, only for their attacks to be easily neutralized by the bunshins. Having enough, Sasuke started to perform a sequence of hand seals, before gathering chakra inside his lungs.

_**Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu**__ (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) _

The immense fireball left from Sasuke's mouth towards some of the bunshins, vaporizing them since they were made of water. However, three of them managed to pass by him and Shino's bugs. The ones who passed were faced by Kiba and Naruto. Kiba was about to charge the bunshins head on but Naruto had other plans in mind. Focusing on his bloodline, he quickly went through a series of hand seals, before slamming his hands on the ground.

_**Meiton Tajuu Jiongu**__ (Dark Release: Multiple Black Tendrils Technique) _

The bunshins were startled by the tendrils that came out of the ground, but seeing as they were made with ten percent of the creator's chakra, they didn't possess the speed to escape the technique. Kiba snarled at the blond for interfering in his fight. With the bunshins taken care of, Kurenai managed to assist Kakashi by using a false surroundings genjutsu on Zabuza as he was about to trap Kakashi inside a bubble of water. Kakashi appreciated the help as he stared at Zabuza one more time with his Sharingan activated. They both vanished in light speeds, parrying blows at the center of the lake. To the untrained eye, they were nothing but blurs. Eventually, the two locked their weapons at the middle as water seemed to resonate to the amount of chakra being used in the fight.

Zabuza, then, managed to land a hit on Kakashi's torso, which sent him skidding across the water. However, by the time he began doing hand seals, Kakashi's Sharingan started to copy, allowing the scarecrow jounin to mirror all of Zabuza's hand seals.

_**Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu **__(Water Release: Water Dragon Projectile Technique)_

Beneath the water surface, two creatures roared towards the heavens as they battled for dominance. In the end, one neutralized the other, but Zabuza had to increase his mist once more as Kurenai came in with shurikens. He managed to blend in with the environment, as he considered his next strategy. Dealing with the copy ninja proved to be quite troublesome, but he planned on taking care of the woman first, thus, eliminating Kakashi's back up once and for all. Because of the heavy mist, Kakashi's Sharingan couldn't spot the enemy, which served Zabuza quite nicely, allowing him to maneuver behind the genjutsu mistress of Konoha. When his cleaver sword was inches away from slicing her stomach, Zabuza was surprised when a skeleton pushed Kurenai aside and took the attack. The noise alerted Kakashi and he charged Zabuza with his kunai, piercing the man's side. Still not knowing what the hell happened, Zabuza started making hand seals for his prized technique, one that would obliterate both jounins for good.

Too bad that by the time he finished the long series of hand seals needed for the technique, Kakashi already copied the move and was faster with the hand seals sequence.

_**Suiton Daibafuku no Jutsu**__ (Water Release: Grand Waterfall Technique)_

Zabuza could only stare in shock as the tidal wave reached his position and dragged him below the water towards a thick tree. The impact was enough to crack a lot of ribs, just as Kakashi approached with a bloodied kunai, ready to finish the job. However, his senses were on high alert as a couple of senbons landed on Zabuza's neck. His eyes lost their color the second the senbons pierced his neck. No sooner, a Kirigakure Hunter-nin appeared, offering his thanks for allowing him to capture Zabuza once and for all. Kakashi went to check on Zabuza's vital signs, before sighing in relief that he didn't feel a pulse. As soon as the hunter-nin vanished with Zabuza's body, Kakashi fell on the ground due to chakra exhaustion, thus Kurenai was in charge. She turned to Naruto and nodded to him. The message was clear…take care of Kakashi while he was unconscious.

"Tazuna-san, how much longer before we arrive?"

"My house is close by; only ten minutes now…follow me"

Sakura almost fainted when she saw the bones coming out of the ground, forming skeletons around Naruto. She was even more shocked when said skeletons grabbed Kakashi's body and carried him towards Tazuna's house.

Shino and Hinata, strangely enough, already got used to Naruto's bunshins but Sasuke and Kiba wondered what Naruto's problem was and his strange techniques. In less than half an hour, the group arrived in Wave Country and in Tazuna's house.

* * *

**===At Tazuna's house===**

Tsunami stood praying to the heavens that her father would be alright. It'd been several days since he left and no word reached her regarding his whereabouts since then. The situation in Wave Country was catastrophic and she knew how far her father would go to rescue the people of Wave Country. Gato was ruthless and already set an example with her husband. She doubted if she could survive seeing her father suffer the same fate. A strong knock on the door alerted her to outside presence, thus she left the kitchen and passed by the living room, in order to open the door. After doing so, she was thrilled to see her father with a smile on his face.

"Tou-san, you came back…I was so worried about you" Shouted Tsunami as she hugged him fiercely, showing how afraid she was of losing him.

"Do not worry Tsunami-chan, these super shinobi from Konoha were able to protect me throughout my journey back. Let me tell you, Gato sent these ninjas against us, but they were no match for Konoha…Tsunami…" Tazuna stopped talking as soon as he saw the terrified look on his daughter's eyes. It was like she was in a horror film. The man followed her line of sight, when he also saw the skeletons that were holding the unconscious jounin. When he was about to explain the reason behind the skeletons, he heard the sound of someone falling and sighed upon seeing his daughter unconscious. The good thing was that she managed to fall inside the house, thus everyone got inside and Tazuna closed the door.

"Tazuna, is there a room where I can settle Kakashi-sensei down?" Naruto asked, as his skeleton bunshins were behind him.

"Yeah, follow me…there is room for everyone. Would you be so kind Kurenai-san to take my daughter to the couch in front of us? I forgot but the girl always had nightmares of horror stories. When she saw the strange kid's technique, she fainted right away"

A long chuckle escaped from Tazuna's mouth, seeing as he was the one responsible for telling his daughter all those stories when she was little. Kurenai nodded and with Hinata and Sakura's help, lifted the black haired woman and placed her on the couch. After everything was set, Kurenai gathered all the genins, since a little meeting was long overdue. The mission was to protect Tazuna until he reached his house, but complications arose.

"Seeing as Kakashi is unconscious, I'll be the one leading you all. Hopefully, by this time tomorrow, he'll wake up. Our original mission was to guard Tazuna up to here, Wave Country. However, looking at our recent encounters, the Demon Brothers and Zabuza, it's clear that Gato will stop at nothing to eliminate our client, thus getting rid of the bridge the man is building. So, we'll stay and protect him until the bridge is finished. Since we have two teams – one jounin and three genins – we can rearrange guard duty assignments. Every day, one jounin and two genins will follow Tazuna around, in order to protect him against attacks. The rest will receive some training from the available jounin, who will also watch over Tsunami and her son"

Everyone nodded, however Sakura had one question.

"Kurenai-sensei, isn't it better to save our energy in case something happens? I mean, by training, we would be too exhausted to move when the time came" Kurenai smiled at the question, seeing as she, now, could come with the final and most important announcement.

"That would be very true, Sakura. However, the state our enemy is now in will delay his health for about two weeks, giving us time to train you guys better" Upon seeing the questioned looks, she decided to explain. "Something I remembered upon entering this house, was the weapon used by the hunter-nin in order to kill Zabuza. I distinctively remembered that someone with a pinpoint accuracy could place someone in a death like state. The hunter-nin must have thrown the senbon below Zabuza's neck area to lower his heart beats to the bare minimum. Thus when Kakashi sensed his pulse, he thought the man was dead. Another thing that worried me was that Hunter-nins just don't take the body elsewhere. He should have decapitated the man right there, which means…"

"…that Zabuza is still alive" Shino completed, frowning his temples upon remembering Kakashi's fight against the Demon of the Mist.

The rest of the genins where surprised at this and, then, understood the need for more training. Sasuke smirked at the idea of being trained, seeing as he could add more techniques to his repertoire and hopefully awaken his Sharingan. The rest of the day was meant for relaxation. So, the six genins resumed to their own devices. Naruto decided to read a book regarding the sword katas. Shino, Kiba and Hinata started talking about past missions and such, while Kiba decided to ask questions about Naruto. Sasuke also started reading a scroll with advanced fire manipulation. Sakura, for her chance, didn't know what to do except watch Sasuke. Kurenai, for her part, decided to join Kiba, Shino and Hinata in the conversation.

"What are you all doing? You are all going to die…" It was a child's voice that screamed at them, at the top of his lungs. As soon as Inari heard from Tazuna, he came to the living room hoping to send them all away.

"What the hell kid, why are you saying such things?" Kiba asked as everyone turned to Inari.

"You can't face against Gato, he'll kill all of you just like he killed my father and everyone who dared facing him" Afterward, the kid ran to his room and closed the door with much strength as he could. Instantly, Tazuna and Tsunami sighed in dismay and apologized to the genins for her son's outburst.

"I'm so very sorry about him" Tsunami said, before pointing at the frame on the wall. "Kaiza was my husband and Inari's father. He was Inari's hero. When Gato arrived, Kaiza stood up against him...and…he was brutalized in front of everyone…" The woman started sobbing until his father ushered her to stop by placing one hand on her shoulder. All of Konoha's genins, including Kurenai, kept their faces down at seeing the woman. Naruto, on the other hand, could feel his chakra responding to the woman's suffering. He supposed it was a side effect of his skills with Meiton ninjutsu. Upon facing negative emotions, he could feel his chakra travelling faster throughout the chakra coils, like it was being fed off of Tsunami's tears of sadness.

_Meiton was considered, by most, the ninjutsu of darkness Naruto-kun. Anger, sadness, madness would only increase the user's power…_

Naruto remembered hearing it from his grandfather seeing as Hiruzen faced one Meiton user before. He also stressed to Naruto the importance of not depending on these feelings for getting stronger. Hiruzen told Naruto that if he wasn't careful in the future, his mind would be driven by said feeling up to the point of desiring more power. While the blond didn't give a rat's ass to what his enemies felt, he did care about those he knew…his family, his teammates, his sensei and also those who looked at him and doesn't see a fifty foot nine-tailed demon fox. The rest were considered enemies in his opinion and like he said before to his family, he didn't have any qualms with dealing with those that threatened to attack him…even if they are from Konoha.

* * *

**===At Gatou's hideout===**

Just seconds ago, Haku was done removing the senbons out of Zabuza's neck.

"Dammit Haku, that hurt like hell…do not do that again" The man snorted as he rubbed the back of his neck in pain.

"My apologies Zabuza-sama…it was the only thing I could do to save you against the Konoha jounin. I couldn't deal with them and protect you at the same time" It was almost amusing to see the man complaining about pain in Haku's opinion. However, like he said, it was better than dealing with Konoha.

"What about the Demon Brothers…what happened to those imbeciles?" Somehow, Zabuza already knew the answer to the question, seeing as he ended up dealing with Konoha, but he only wanted confirmation.

"When I arrived at their location, there was no sign of them. I assume Konoha already captured them and took them to their village for questioning" Zabuza simply nodded and grabbed his pet sword, before using it to get up. Because of Haku's senbon, he was still debilitated, thus he would require at least a couple of weeks before going out there. After Haku treated his wounds, Zabuza started contemplating his fight with Kakashi and that woman. He knew that Konoha wouldn't leave without being sure that the bridge builder was safe and Gato was dead. Therefore, a rematch would occur. However, he needed a new advantage against those two jounins. Kakashi was as skilled as the bingo book described him to be, but Zabuza could take him.

Problem was the genjutsu user. Zabuza figured that Haku could deal with the woman. Though it would leave the genins to help and that also created a problem. When he was about to cut the girl in two pieces, a bunch of skeletons appeared and pushed her out of the way before his sword could connect. Zabuza didn't know who created that skeleton creature but he was pretty sure one of the brats did it. Also, he could see his clones being dealt with by some strange looking tendrils that came out of the ground. Now that his memory was improving, he remembered seeing the blond brat with both hands on the ground, like he was summoning something.

_Could it be him?….my clones didn't have my speed, but they could match any genin and even low level chunnin. If the blond managed to make hand seals before the clones reached, then we're dealing with a possible new threat. I need to look at that kid, further. Maybe Haku could spy on him._

"Ah Zabuza…it seems that investing in your skills didn't pay off in the end. My samurais told me that Tazuna is in Wave Country and followed by two teams from Konoha. I wouldn't imagine that a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist was so pathetic…" Gato was a midget and wore a smile on his face like he owned the Demon of the Mist. Zabuza only responded with a light chuckle and instantly placed his sword mere inches from Gato's throat. He could feel the man in front of him tense at the feeling of cold steel scratching his jugular. He snarled at the man for threatening him, but he couldn't just use power and money to control someone like Zabuza.

"Lower your weapon Zabuza-kun…it's not nice to threaten our employer like this…" The new voice startled Zabuza, before he saw the new confident smirk on Gato's face.

Zabuza snarled upon seeing the man coming out of the shadow. He was easily taller than Zabuza, carrying a nice number of scars on his face. He wore an eye patch on his left eye and carried two katanas strapped on his back. He wore black pants with gray stripes and a green vest on top of a fishnet shirt.

"Himura Kyoushu, A-ranked missing-nin from Kumogakure, master of lightning molding and rumored to rival the Seven Swordsmen in kenjutsu…I didn't know you hunted down here as well" Kyoushu just laughed at the comment, before bowing to his employer and left.

Despite the fact that Zabuza was pissed, his new _ally _would prove useful against Konoha. He could deal with Kakashi while Kyoushu dealt with the woman. Haku would take care of the genins in seconds…

* * *

**===next day===**

Once everyone was up, the group, including Kakashi who was walking with the aid of a walking-stick, gathered up inside the forest located a few miles away from Tazuna's house. Just as Kurenai, Kakashi suspected that Zabuza was still alive. Therefore, both jounins would need to prepare their genins for the battle up ahead. This time, the group would be facing not only Zabuza, but the hunter-nin as well. Kakashi knew that the Demon of the Mist wouldn't just associate with any shinobi, thus he was prepared for someone at least on Kurenai's level of skills. Therefore, he needed to prepare his and Kurenai's students.

"Okay, Kurenai and I agreed that she will be the one guarding Tazuna, seeing as I'm in no shape yet. That being said, I will be the one preparing you all for the fight. I know from Kurenai, that she already trained her team in chakra control techniques and genjutsu. Thus, we'll be focusing on another art I happen to be most suited to teach…Ninjutsu. Kiba, Hinata and Shino already have their family's techniques, so we'll settle for spars against each other in order to hone your skills for the fight. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto will receive a more thorough training from me in terms of ninjutsu. Naruto, I know you already possess the Meiton bloodline, but I wouldn't put it past me that Zabuza already knows as well and it's preparing accordingly. Therefore, I'm going to teach you elemental ninjutsu along with Sasuke and Sakura. Now, please channel some chakra to this chakra paper so that we can determine the element you're most suited with" The blond nodded, before grabbing the paper and channeling chakra to it"

Normally, Kakashi would begin an explanation about the theory behind the elements, but he knew that the Hokage must have drilled every bit of information regarding the shinobi world into his skull. The scarecrow jounin was slightly surprised upon seeing the paper crumbling between Naruto's fingers.

"Well, Naruto, you're in luck…" Naruto could see the jounin smiling at him, though he didn't understand why.

"Why is that?"

"You happen to share the same affinity as both me and Sasuke-kun here. It will be easier to teach you about the element. Normally, it would take a bit of time to learn it, but seeing as we don't have much, I created a new method of learning. It may hurt, but Sasuke here managed to awake his lightning chakra in less than two days with it, and I believe you will too. I need you to focus every bit of chakra you possess and channel it to your hand. I'll manifest lightning chakra and pass it to your hand. Now, it's important to maintain your control, otherwise it will sting quite a bit" Sasuke was surprised Kakashi would do something like that once more, seeing as he almost blacked out the first time.

He couldn't help but agree that it was efficient, though. Sasuke's element were both fire and lightning and even if he used more of the Uchiha techniques, he was currently learning a few low ranked lightning techniques from his sensei. Naruto, for his turn, just nodded and focused chakra through his right hand, before it started glowing blue. The others around him were surprised to see so much chakra practically covering Naruto's entire hand and wrist. Kakashi smiled, before molding some lightning chakra through his hand as well.

"Remember Naruto, you can't lose control of your chakra, otherwise my lightning will run through your body and…well it will hurt like a bitch" Naruto nodded while Kakashi approached his glowing hand to Naruto's. In no time, Naruto's hand started controlling lighting as well, surprising both Kakashi and Sasuke. Naruto, though, was having trouble controlling his large quantity of chakra. Kurenai must have taught him already tree walking and water walking, though this crash course required more. He could feel Kakashi's chakra coursing through his veins. His arms and legs started shaking under the pressure. Kakashi, despite being surprised, smiled upon seeing the veins popping on Naruto's forehead. Although better than Sasuke, this exercise was meant for chunnins not genins.

"You can't lose control Naruto...keep this up for an hour while I deal with Sasuke and Sakura" Despite the obvious pain he was feeling, Naruto was focused on the task, he wouldn't back down from this.

"Kurenai, I believe Tazuna is on his way to the bridge. Take Shino, Hinata and Kiba with you. You could teach them a bit of genjutsu. Kiba would also enjoy a bit of chakra control as well" Said Kakashi, before hearing the Inuzuka grumble some incoherent curse words at his sensei. Afterwards, he was back with Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. "While Naruto is busy not frying himself, I want to see you practicing your new techniques. Sasuke, you are still due to master the lightning paralysis technique. Sakura, you already managed to perform the mud bunshin, but I'm expecting you to finish the mud barrier technique, in order to better support your teammates when the time comes. Afterwards, you two will begin water walking. I know Naruto already finished, hence why he'll be practicing his element. If the blond's control over lightning reaches Sasuke's level, he'll learn the lighting paralysis and then you three will spar against each other. Now, get to work the two of you while I'll go look after Naruto"

Sakura and Sasuke nodded as they went through the hand seals for the techniques. Sasuke began to think a lot about Naruto's already existing skills and how he needed to catch up with him.

Naruto, for his turn, was more in control of his body. He managed to control his chakra up to the point of needing less and less in order to control the lightning chakra. Still, he was scared to cut off the chakra and get fried, thus he continued.

Kakashi decided to stay between the three and watched them from a distance. His students were bright and would eventually get the exercise. He was most surprised, though, at Kurenai's student Naruto. He knew from the woman as well as from the Hokage, that the boy was a natural learner. He listened to everything intently and once he started an exercise, he wouldn't rest until he was at least adept at the technique. Kakashi's eyes were focused on Naruto's glowing hand and smiled upon seeing the blond already managing to control the intensity of the lightning energy. In no time, the blond would certainly reach Sasuke's level of manipulation.

_Kiba managed to rival Sasuke's skills to a certain degree, being considered his rival. However, as an Inuzuka, he'd learn his family's techniques only. Sasuke needs a rival without clan limitations. One that could constantly challenge him to improve…Naruto could certainly fill that role…_

Kakashi was just thinking about the possibilities. He knew Sasuke was surprised when Naruto managed the jounin's advanced exercise on lightning manipulation and he also could see that the Uchiha was training the techniques longer than normal; just to be ahead of the blind genin.

The jounin could only smile as he observed the genins.

* * *

**Author Note**

Ok, that's it for now, I decided to split the wave arc in two parts, rather than doing it all in one chapter.

Tell me what you think about the changes occurred.

See ya.


	10. Demon vs Demon Part II

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Meshii. Yes, I know, it's frustrating to read the same introduction every time I post a new chapter, but please don't think ill of me because of it.

I'd like to take this opportunity and express my concern over a practical joke – if it isn't true, and then please let me know – that was recently published in the internet, regarding Shonen Jump's argument with Kishimoto. I've read in some websites that due to a decrease in Naruto's popularity, they would be ending the series prematurely. Some say that it was just realized as a joke for April fools. I just wanted to see if it is indeed a practical joke or the rumor is real.

Now, is the second and last part of the Wave Arc, as I stated last chapter.

* * *

**_Chapter 10 – Demon vs. Demon Part II_**

**_Beta: Kyuubi123_**

* * *

A week has passed since the teams began their training in order to better prepare for the fight ahead. The discovery that Zabuza was alive brought chills to some of the genins. The man alone was a menace already and to believe that the hunter-nin who first appeared to be after Zabuza, was actually helping him was quite troubling. Now, not only did Kakashi and Kurenai have to worry about the Demon of the Hidden Mist, but also the hunter-nin who must be at the same level as him if not better. Both jounins tried their best in preparing the genins to face the hunter-nin, seeing as they would be after Zabuza and wouldn't be able to assist.

From the two teams, three genins were considered by the jounins, their best assets. Sasuke, Shino and Naruto managed to pass their expectations, much to both jounin's delight upon seeing what the new generation could accomplish in the future, if they survived this fight, that is. Shino had full control of his bugs and managed to learn both tree and water walking in no time, meaning his chakra control was excellent. He even managed to learn a few genjutsu techniques from Kurenai, seeing as with his low chakra capacity, it wouldn't be a good idea to focus much on ninjutsu techniques. Most of his chakra was sucked by the kikaichuu, leaving him with the minimum necessary to fight.

Sasuke and Naruto were by far the ones who progressed furthest, since each one used the other to improve their skills. It took a day and a half for Naruto to awaken his lightning affinity. And after that, he practiced the only technique Kakashi taught him with great vigor as expected from a member of the Sarutobi Clan. The blond even managed to incorporate the technique into his taijutsu style, which greatly appeased Kakashi and Sasuke, the latter wanting, desperately, to learn it as well. Their level of rivalry increased so much that one day Sasuke managed to awaken the second stage of his Sharingan eyes when he engaged in a free fight against the blind member of the Sarutobi Clan three days ago.

* * *

_**Flashback on**_

_Seeing that both Naruto and Sasuke were improving their skills, both Kakashi and Kurenai figured that pairing them against one another would increase their skills in a fight. Both of them were the jounin's bet against the hunter-nin, so it was only logical to train them to exhaustion. Shino was to be paired with Kiba and Hinata was against Sakura. Even if the rest weren't as prepared as the two geniuses, they would be of great assistance in protecting the client. _

_The first fight was Sasuke and Naruto as one stood in front of the other._

_Sasuke immediately activated his doujutsu as he knew that Naruto wouldn't be as easy as Kiba. So far, though, Naruto only proved adapt in ninjutsu skills, so Sasuke didn't know if his perception would be altered because of the lack of sight. The Uchiha remembered, though, that Naruto moved to snare the Demon Brothers before he could blink, meaning that somehow, being blind didn't affect his physical skills. Focusing chakra on his feet, Sasuke started testing Naruto's taijutsu skills with a frontal assault. He swung his right arm, aiming a direct punch to the left side of his face, only for the blond to grab his wrist and throw Sasuke away, before throwing a couple of kunais at the Uchiha. Because of the Sharingan, Sasuke saw the projectiles coming and deflected them with his own kunai. As soon as he landed on the ground, Naruto was right in front of him, as he flipped his body, aiming a reverse kick on Sasuke's side stomach. The Uchiha for his part blocked the incoming kick, before turning the tables with a kick of his own, which was blocked by Naruto. _

_The Uchiha, then, backed away from Naruto, but the blond didn't let him, charging once more. Naruto's speed was impressive and Sasuke almost couldn't follow. He received a strong punch on his face, but managed to grab Naruto's arms, before pulling him closer. He had free access to Naruto's stomach, as he landed a frontal kick at the Sarutobi. _

_Naruto wasn't fazed much as he flipped in mid-air and charged once more against the Uchiha. Sasuke was ready and blocked Naruto's sequence of punches, before flipping his body and aiming his elbow on Naruto's face. Using the palm of his hand, Naruto stopped Sasuke's movements. He grabbed Sasuke's arm, which left him open for a nice punch on his stomach. The lack of air gave Naruto the advantage he needed to connect another even stronger strike, which sent Sasuke flying. While flying, Sasuke could see that Naruto came after him, hoping to end the fight. _

_While in mid-air, he went through a few hand seals, as he gathered enough air inside his lungs._

_**Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu**__ (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)_

_Naruto stopped immediately as he sensed the increase in temperature and the image of the attack through his chakra no Myaku technique. Quickly going through hand seals, he slammed both hands on the ground, as he molded the necessary chakra for his technique. This was the first time he ever attempted to use his bloodline for defensive purposes and Naruto admitted that he didn't know for sure that the technique would be able to stop the fire technique. He supposed it would only serve to stop its advance for a while, before he could adjust his strategy._

_**Meiton Kuro Shouheki**__ (Dark Release: Dark Barrier Technique)_

_Immediately, a dark wall appeared from underground, blocking the fireball somewhat. Everyone present could see that the defense wasn't strong enough to hold the Uchiha's attack, but only Kakashi managed to see that it served Naruto's purpose just fine, seeing as he was no longer behind the barrier. He approved said strategies as a very crafty skill for a ninja to possess. Using defensive barriers to at the same time, block the attack and not allow the enemy to see his movements. It was because of this that he didn't intervene, when the barrier didn't hold the technique. _

_Sasuke looked around with his Sharingan as he knew that Naruto wouldn't use something he knew wouldn't work. He turned quickly to his right, seeing as his Sharingan caught Naruto's chakra trail, however he was ill equipped to stop Naruto from slamming his lightning infused palm on his chest, as Naruto sent a considerable shock to Sasuke's system, paralyzing him instantly. The fact that Sasuke also had a lightning affinity diminished the effects, hence why Naruto immediately jumped to the air and landed a fierce kick on Sasuke's face, sending him flying. Sasuke spat out blood as he looked at Naruto, with even more determination than before. His Uchiha Blood was boiling, but he was unaware of the fact that a new tome was added to his eyes. _

_Kakashi noticed and congratulated himself on thinking that Naruto was better suited to become Sasuke's rival than Kiba. He stopped the fight immediately, because he knew that Sasuke wouldn't stop until he was unconscious. At first, the Uchiha protested, saying that he wanted to fight more, but after being told that he evolved his Sharingan to the second stage, he smiled and looked at Naruto. It was right there that he knew that if someone was to help him kill Itachi, it would be Naruto. _

* * *

_**Flashback off**_

Since that day, Naruto and Sasuke battled constantly and because of Sasuke's new Sharingan eyes, his speed increased, allowing him to beat Naruto a couple of times in a fight. It didn't mean that he had supremacy over the blind shinobi, since on occasions; Naruto would somehow anticipate Sasuke's movements before he even moved, just like the Sharingan would. Unknown to the Uchiha, though, Naruto's increase in speed is more related to his better awareness of the opponent's muscles. His acute hearing focused not only on the sound of heartbeats, but also the peculiar sound of muscles being constricted.

He supposed he should thank Sasuke for this.

Their constant spars proved to Naruto that he had much to learn and improve. Nowadays, he was focusing more periods of time in improving his acute hearing and his awareness of the environment through his other senses. Regarding his ninjutsu, Kakashi taught him and Sasuke the Lightning Strike Technique that basically consisted on focusing large amounts of lightning chakra into one specific limb, being either arm or leg. By landing the strike, Naruto would send a strong current of electricity inside the opponent's body, causing great internal damage.

"Okay everyone, gather up" Kakashi shouted as all six genins appeared in front of him and Kurenai. "Today we'll be dealing with adversities that could occur on the battlefield, rather disadvantages in numbers. Usually, the enemy outnumbers us and it's up to the shinobi to adapt. Naruto and Sasuke will be paired this time against the other four. This time, no dangerous techniques are allowed, which means that no fire techniques Sasuke and definitely not meiton techniques, Naruto" He smiled upon hearing grumbles from both, but continued. "It's vital that you guys learn to adapt to out of the ordinary situations. Now, the exercise will end once I believe one party is victorious. Until then, none of you is to stop, am I clear? Everyone nodded, before Sasuke and Naruto remained, while the other four vanished.

"So, how do you want to do this?" Sasuke asked, as he used his Sharingan to spot their location. Naruto was also using his technique to spot his teammates' location. He was more worried with a few selected individuals, that being Shino and Hinata. The other two were either terrible at stealth – Sakura – or really in need of a bath – Kiba.

"Let's focus on the ones that are most threatening, namely Shino and Hinata. Their skills are rather tricky to avoid and both of us would be useless if our tenketsus were closed. Regarding the others, we can adapt, like Kakashi-sensei said"

Sasuke smiled since he also thought little of his team. "Kiba is too brash for his own good, so his attack will come a mile away. Sakura doesn't have offensive techniques, so she will attack from a distance with kunais and shurikens. They are rather predictable that way, indeed. Now, I'll take Shino and you take Hinata on, sound good?" Naruto immediately nodded just as a bunch of shurikens appeared, ready to pierce the two. However, both evaded the projectiles, before seeing two drills flying at them, hoping to catch them in mid-air.

Both Naruto and Sasuke used kawarimi and appeared right behind the flabbergasted Kiba and Akamaru turned Kiba, before landing a fierce kick on their stomach. Normally, Kiba wouldn't be affected much, but seeing as the kick was molded with lightning chakra it paralyzed both him and his canine, counting as the first casualty. Shino and Hinata appeared from behind their backs with plain taijutsu moves, but Sasuke and Naruto managed to stop them before it connected. Naruto could see that Hinata managed to use her jyuuken and let go of her arm, before the chakra attack connected. Sasuke's Sharingan caught projectiles coming from an unknown presence as he used his kunai to deflect. He smiled realizing Sakura's position. He needed to stop Shino, though, who was quite adapt at taijutsu to pose a challenge. He was slowly winning, though, when Hinata appeared behind his back, aiming at his tenketsus. She was unable to, however, when Naruto came and punched her directly on the stomach. Shino released his bugs in order to protect Hinata, forcing Sasuke and Naruto to create some distance.

"I know where Sakura is. Think you can handle both for a while?" Sasuke asked which Naruto nodded. The Uchiha smirked and vanished using a shunshin. Shino and Hinata tried to go after him, but immediately stopped when the blond threw kunais at their path. Seeing that they couldn't dodge in time, Hinata started spinning while creating a dome of chakra.

_**Hakkeishou Kaiten**_ (Heavenly Spin)

Naruto decided to test the girl's skills, thus he used a technique he recently learned from his grandfather. After a few hand seals, the projectiles multiplied and were now bombarding the still spinning Hinata. The Kaiten was an excellent defense, but no Hyuuga could maintain for long periods of time. The girl almost allowed one projectile to pass, but Shino managed to catch it. By this time, though, Naruto and Sasuke's plan proved fruitful as Sasuke appeared next to Naruto, carrying Sakura on his shoulder. Shino did a few hand seals, before he invaded both Sasuke and Naruto's chakra with altering image genjutsu. Although it took only a couple seconds to dispel the genjutsu, it allowed Hinata to appear and land a hit on Naruto's arm, before he used the other arm in reflex and landed a punch on the back of her neck, sending her to unconsciousness.

Kakashi appeared by their side, stopping the match as the advantage in number was no longer present, meaning that Sasuke and Naruto were victorious. However, Shino and Hinata's strategy proved fruitful. Hinata could easily deliver a killing blow with the jyuuken, but instead opted to ruin Naruto's arm. This exercise was considered effective to let Sasuke and Naruto know that despite their increase in skills, a larger group can still beat them. He decided that today was enough of training and took everyone back to the house, where Tazuna and Tsunami were waiting for dinner.

* * *

**===At Tazuna's house===**

As soon as everyone arrived, dinner was already served. Because of the amount of effort, the genins pretty much forgot their manners on the table and were eating like there was no tomorrow. Hinata, Kiba and Sakura were already awake and Hinata managed to open Naruto's closed tenketsus, allowing the flow of chakra to pass there once more. Kakashi and Kurenai figured that they were as ready as they'd ever be, hence why the teams would rest for two days. One team would accompany Tazuna and the other would stay at the house in case Gatou tried to use Tsunami or Inari. None really complained, seeing as all of them had a nice set of training and their confidence was boosted, because of it.

After dinner, each ninja went to their own affairs.

Kakashi, as usual, took his favorite book and started reading with a perverted giggle here and there, causing both Kurenai and Tsunami to glare at him venomously. Like in Konoha, he ignored the women's ire and kept on reading. Hinata, Shino and Kiba were busy talking amongst themselves regarding their clans and its respective skills. Sakura decided to join, seeing as she became curious about the conversation. Naruto was busy passing his fingers throughout the braille written scroll containing the kenjutsu style he was supposed to learn. Sasuke, with nothing better to do, appeared next to the blond and, surprisingly to himself, decided to start a conversation with Naruto. It was somewhat unnerving to believe that Naruto could fight on equal speeds as Sasuke with his Sharingan, but when it came to reading, he was just a blind person.

"I thought that you used chakra to overcome your lack of sight, Naruto" The genin didn't stop passing his finger throughout the text as he was _looking _at Sasuke, sort of. It wasn't actually looking, but he turned his face to look like he was.

"I do. But I can't use it to read texts like I do with fighting. With this technique, my brain is able to process the necessary outline of a person's image as well as the scenery around us. At the academy, I focused on the sound of Iruka-sensei's chalk and how he moved his hand in order to determine what he was writing on the board" After Naruto explained, Sasuke nodded. Indeed, Sarutobi Naruto was strange, but he couldn't deny that Naruto was skilled and the fact that he not only managed to overcome the lack of sight, was nothing short of impressive. Sasuke couldn't help but imagine what his life would be like if he lost his eyes. Would he able to continue his life as a shinobi? Like Naruto did, would he manage to overcome such a handicap? He knew the answers to all his questions and that only increased his respect for the blond as someone to whom he could call his rival.

The thought alone made Sasuke smile. Both would drive each other into perfection and Sasuke would use it to become powerful enough to defeat his brother and cleanse the Uchiha Clan's reputation.

After the conversation, albeit a brief one, Naruto went back to his scroll as he grabbed the sword handle and took it out of the scabbard. He focused every bit of chakra and turned to administer the sword in its every detail. The scroll said that a kenjutsu specialist needed to familiarize him or herself with the weapon. It was his obligation, as a future blind swordsman, to transform the sword into a mere extension of his limbs. Immediately, the image of his father practicing with the bo-staff like every Sarutobi before him appeared inside his mind. The Sarutobi Clan members were experts in fighting with weapons. The Hokage, for instance, achieved a level of skill that none yet managed to top and the man has more than sixty years old. If Naruto wanted to be better, he needed to practice…he needed experience.

If Naruto wanted to be the best, he needed to surpass the best. It was with this exact resolve that he went to sleep seeing as everyone did the same.

* * *

**===Next day===**

The next day, Kakashi's team went together with Tazuna towards the unfinished bridge. Meanwhile, Kurenai Shino and Hinata maintained a heavy scout around the house so as to stop any of Gatou's thugs from hurting either Inari or Tsunami. The only one not focused on the mission right now was Naruto. He placed the sword in front of him as he kneeled on the ground. His face was staring at the wide ocean, but it wouldn't make much of a difference, seeing as he couldn't see the majestic sight of the sunlight's reflection on the water. He needn't close his eyes, for as it wouldn't make any difference as well. Instead, Naruto focused his chakra on his most important and most used sense, his hearing. He could hear, like it was right in front of him, the waves crashing on the beach…the calm smoothing sound of the water.

He found it relaxing in ways that he never thought he would before.

Such a state of mind was imperative for him to understand the fundamentals of fighting with weapons such as the one in front of him. Surprisingly enough, the scroll explained in detail that a weapon user needs to learn how to behave like the water. Kenjutsu, like the bo-staff, requires an open mind, a calm spirit. By acting rashly, you're just signing your death warrant. Therefore, before he even began his practice, Naruto believed it was best to grasp the basics of sword fighting before actually practicing with it. Thus, he just stood there as he mentally prepared himself. While this was happening, the rest of his team watched him in stunned silence. To Shino and Hinata, Naruto was nothing but a mystery. At first, his Meiton techniques managed to scare even Shino on occasions. Now, the boy looked as peaceful as he could ever be. It was quite strange to the genins. Kurenai, though, understood the meaning behind his actions and smiled at her student. Kenjutsu practice required a level mind, after all.

She remembered how she used to loath the kid, not only because of the fox but rather the incidents that used to involve him. She, later, found out that indeed not one of the incidents was caused by Naruto, but rather he was provoked.

Since then, she managed to overcome her initial feeling of him and managed to be a jounin-sensei to the kid, teaching him the arts of genjutsu, her area of expertise. She discovered that the blond had an aptitude for the art. He had great control, which she already expected since the Hokage must have drilled the importance of nice chakra control since birth. He grasped the theory easily as well and the techniques he used with his bloodline managed to produce some nasty illusions that even she was impressed when he showed the last one he created. Now, by the looks of things, he was attempting a new art, kenjutsu. Kurenai just smiled and crossed her arms just below her chest area. Naruto could be considered a genius in the likes of Kakashi and even Uchiha Itachi, save from the fact that the latter killed his entire clan.

Unfortunately, she couldn't help him with it, seeing as the closest thing she used, even resembling a blade, was located inside her kunai holster. However, she knew that the blond had enough guidance from his clan and the Hokage.

Back to Naruto, he now got up from the ground and grabbed the sword, before releasing it from the scabbard. Anyone else would be blinded by the sun's reflection on the blade, but that ship had sailed a long time ago. Slowly, he passed his free hand all over his new companion, administering the sword's length. It wasn't long, but it wasn't short either. A kodashi, he reasoned, meant for shinobis seeing as its movements are faster than the samurai katana. Also, with the right technique, it could carry the same strength. Of course, the blond needed to practice, first. After feeling the blade, the blond started moving the weapon, slowly, following the katas he memorized from the scroll. He had the drive and the patience to master anything he set his mind to. Within ten minutes, Naruto decided to step the pace up and began to slice the air multiple times like he was pounding his enemy. Of course, if he had a regular sword, he would be slicing the enemy, but with the reversed blade kodashi, all he could do was to break some bones.

He supposed it would suffice, though.

The blond was so engrossed in his practice that he hadn't register the fact that the sun was almost down and Kakashi's team appeared right in front of him with Tazuna.

"I wasn't aware you were into kenjutsu, Naruto?" Kakashi smiled as the team went inside with Tazuna. Naruto didn't stop his movements, however, and continued to run the katas.

"Every Sarutobi chooses a weapon. The bo-staff…just wasn't right for me." Despite the blond's fatigue from training for hours, he managed to explain his reason to Kakashi, who maintained his smile at the boy and went inside the house. Soon, the moon was up but he didn't stop practicing the movements. Such stamina and dedication were some of the traits of the Sarutobi Clan, Kakashi reasoned as he watched the blond from a window inside the house. Naruto managed to withstand the fatigue for thirty minutes more, before he succumbed and fainted, like everyone expected and even placed bets on how much longer he would practice (Kiba, Kakashi and even Sakura).

The next day, the warmth of sunlight alerted Naruto that he overslept. He remembered training until exhaustion hit him yesterday. Since he wasn't focusing chakra, he relied on other senses to aid him in figuring out where he was and what was happening around him. He slept outside Tazuna's house as he felt the touch of grass on his back. Also, his sense of smell indicated that he wasn't alone. This presence near him was new, he reasoned. Therefore, he focused chakra and expanded it, before the images appeared inside his brain. He could see that it was barely morning outside, so no one would be up yet. The person kneeling in front of him had long hair **(he can't distinguish color)** and wore a simple blue kimono. She was looking at him, as if wondering if the blond was asleep or not. For some reason, Haku **(yes, Haku is a girl)** looked at Naruto's eyes and couldn't ascertain if he was in fact asleep or just staring at her for a long time.

The blond let out a grumpy waking up noise as he got up from the ground.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, feeling a strange sense of familiarity, like he had sensed her before.

"Oh I'm sorry for disturbing you. I thought you were asleep. It's quite chilly here at night, you could catch a serious cold" The blond fount laughable the idea of him catching a cold. One of the perks of having a giant tailed beast inside your gut was that he never had to worry about getting sick. Even deadly bruises didn't take that long to heal in his case. Normally, his body right now would be rigid from the extreme workout from yesterday. However, being who he was, there was no aching muscles or trouble moving his limbs at all.

"That would be a first. Since I was born, I don't remember ever being sick. What's your name and what are you going to do with the hand basket?"

"Sorry about that, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Haku and right now I'm gathering medicinal herbs to treat a dear friend of mine. He got injured last week and these herbs will certainly heal him. What's your name?" The blond took a moment to study the girl's actions and her heart beat. There was something wrong and he knew it, somehow. By the looks of things, this Haku person was nothing more than a civilian person with knowledge of medicinal herbs. But Naruto could pick even the most subtle behavior out of people. Her heart beat wasn't steady, but it wasn't beating like crazy either. He would have to be cautious around her. Right now, they had a mission to perform and she could very well be working for the enemy. The fact that she glanced at his headband indicated that she knew of his status as a Konoha Shinobi.

"The name is Naruto." He had a hunch about this girl, but he needed more time with her. "If you need any help collecting the herbs, I could be of assistance."

The girl smiled at his offer and nodded in appreciation as they distanced themselves from the house and went further into the woods, looking for the herbs. As the two walked, Naruto studied this Haku's actions. The way she walked, the way she posed gave him tons of indication that she wasn't a mere civilian. He could tell she was focused on her surroundings, just like he was. His technique couldn't detect any hidden weaponry inside that simple kimono of hers, but it didn't mean he wasn't wary of her intentions. If she was working for the enemy, then why didn't she kill him when he was on the ground, unconscious? This question entered his mind and he instantly berated himself for even allowing the opportunity.

He supposed it was just luck.

"So Naruto-san, are you a shinobi?" Haku asked as she found some of the herbs and collected them, earning a simple nod from Naruto.

"So, you saw the headband, huh. Yes, I'm a shinobi from Konohagakure" Simple answers to simple questions, thus avoiding the possibility of giving information to the enemy. He could hear her heartbeat increase, further increasing his suspicions.

"Guilty as charged, Naruto-san. I guess you must be strong, then." First trap question, Naruto assumed. Haku could disguise her actions well to someone that didn't rely on his hearing as much as Naruto did. He learned that when people asked him questions, the heart usually skipped a beat, meaning he or she was rather anxious to get something out of him. He would play ignorant and say nothing.

"I have just now graduated from the academy. I'm still a bit inexperienced at things" Naruto knew how to pose in front of others. One part of being a human lie detector is that he could feel when people didn't believe him as well. Still, if the woman was a ninja as well, she couldn't just take his words for granted. After all, actions spoke louder than mere words.

Naruto found more herbs and placed them in Haku's hand basket.

"Say Naruto, do you have anyone you want to protect?" Now that was an interesting question. "It's said that people are strong when they have someone to protect. Do you have anyone in Konoha that you want to protect?" Thinking for a moment, Naruto could pick only a few people he wanted to protect; his family, no doubt and his team. Tonbo-sensei as well, but Naruto doubted the man needed protection. Naruto had a lot to thank him for and he supposed it would be nice to visit him after this mission was over.

"You could say I have. Do you have someone, Haku?" Immediately after asking, the blond felt weak for no apparent reason. He could feel his chakra capacity decreasing as Haku smiled thinking of the one she wanted to defend. Naruto proceeded to reach for his kunai holster, to see if he had enough weaponry to survive an eventual assault. For some reason, he couldn't use his chakra.

"I guess I do too. He needs my attention right now. I appreciate your help Naruto-san. I have enough herbs" Naruto nodded and saw Haku turning her back and walking away. He guessed now it would be a good time to see a reaction from the girl. He had a hunch and he would try it.

"You're welcome Haku-san. I hope that Zabuza gets better" He smirked upon hearing the woman's heart beat increase exponentially. So, it was true; she was the enemy. He saw that Haku abandoned all sorts of restraints and grabbed a good deal of senbons with both her hands. She threw them fast at Naruto, who grabbed two kunais and deflected them, before any reached his body. He focused on deflecting the senbons, so Haku had the time to escape. He looked around the premises and found no trace of her position. Still, he could analyze the brief fight and deduce who exactly Haku was. He remembered that Zabuza was hit with Senbons in his neck. The senbons belonged to that hunter-nin, who claimed she was working for Kirigakure and was searching for Zabuza a long time. Haku was the hunter-nin. He had to tell Kakashi and Kurenai-sensei.

"**You should be wary of her even more brat" **Kyuubi's voice echoed inside his head, which at first caused the blond to look around for the enemy. The last time Kyuubi spoke to him was when he taught the black dragon projectile technique. Despite everything, he kept the conversation down to the bare necessity.

'_Why is that?'_

"**Do you not remember the time when you felt weak all of a sudden? She is your opposite."**

'_You mean?'_

"**She possesses Hiton (light release). I don't believe she is aware of it, yet. But the fact remains that when she activates it, your chakra is severely reduced, I dare say, to a bare minimal. I suppose it's good that you figured it out right away. When you feel your chakra capacity diminishing, it's because she is using light chakra."**

'_Then, my techniques would be ineffective against her. I have to focus on my lightning techniques. I suppose it would happen eventually. This way, I can be better prepared in the future. Now, I have to report my findings.'_

He stopped talking to the fox as soon as he sensed two familiar presences approaching his position. Kakashi and Sasuke approached his position, because when everyone woke up, Naruto was nowhere to be seen. They saw the blond deep inside the woods next to Tazuna's house and wondered what happened to him. As soon as they met, the blond reported everything to Kakashi, including his suspicions of her using light chakra. Kakashi scowled himself, because the enemy was near Tazuna's house and he didn't even sense danger. Naruto was strong, but he was still a genin under the jounin's responsibility.

"If what you say is true Naruto, then we must focus on expanding your other skills. Sasuke here asked for me to teach another technique, anyway. I guess I'll teach both of you and talk to Kurenai about following Tazuna today. This time it's an offensive technique I copied from a Kumo chunnin a long time ago. It's called _**Raiton Denkou no Ookami**__ (Lightning Release: Lightning Wolf Technique)_. It's a B-ranked technique, so it's considered chunnin level or even jounin. Now, I don't expect either of you two to master the technique in time for the fight, but at least it will give both of you a further understanding of lightning manipulation." The blond nodded, before the three went to Tazuna's house so that the blond could eat something. Once inside, the blond suffered the ire of Kurenai, who was pissed that the blond would be in such dangerous situation, without alerting either her of Kakashi.

* * *

**===Four days later===**

After Naruto's encounter with Haku, Kakashi trained both he and Sasuke like never before, in order to better prepare them against the fake Hunter-nin. Their training involved not only increasing their lightning manipulation, but also fights against the sensei. Even though neither touched Kakashi, the jounin saw that both managed to fight together well. He figured that they could beat a mid-level chunnin, which he assumed was the hunter-nin's level.

As far as the new lightning technique went, Sasuke was the one who mastered it first, seeing as he used his Sharingan to copy Kakashi. It didn't mean that he didn't practice the technique until exhaustion and eventually managed to do it without wasting too much of his chakra capacity. Naruto, though, had the toughest time learning it, because he didn't have Sasuke's eyes. He trained hard, though. Instead of the Sharingan, Naruto could tap an unlimited source of chakra supply, which gave him more time to practice the technique.

However, when Naruto decided to give in to his dark chakra, things didn't happen as Kakashi expected.

* * *

_**Flashback on**_

_Two days ago, Naruto was struggling with the technique that Kakashi taught him and Sasuke. He was a bit unnerved that Sasuke mastered in less than a day, but the Uchiha had an advantage when it came to genjutsu and ninjutsu. He could copy it with his Sharingan, he couldn't. He was getting frustrated that he just couldn't find the amount of chakra necessary to control the wolf and send it towards a specific direction. And his frustration was slowly turning into anger._

_With anger, his dark chakra arose._

_He snarled and made the hand seals once more, before molding the necessary chakra for the technique. What happened next surprised Kakashi in ways that he never thought possible. Well, everything about Naruto until now seemed impossible, but this time, the blond managed something that he'd never seen before and probably wouldn't ever see. The wolf that came out of Naruto's hand was indeed lightning oriented. But instead of his and Sasuke's, Naruto's wolf was a dark shade, just like his meiton techniques. Kakashi knew his Meiton to be a dormant bloodline, but to mix said bloodline with elemental ninjutsu was unheard of. Kakashi was familiar with shinobi combining two elements and combining them to form a new one, but he'd never before seen someone mixing a bloodline element with a regular element. The blond, afterward, kept practicing the technique all day, not even taking time to rest._

* * *

_**Flashback off**_

As a result of his training, the blond just didn't have the stamina to follow the team and Tazuna towards the bridge. Seeing as the construction was almost done, both Kakashi and Kurenai figured that Gatou would be more desperate to kill the man before the bridge's completion; hence why now both teams decided to follow the man. Kakashi was pretty sure Naruto would wake up soon, so he told Tsunami to inform him of the plan and meet them at the bridge.

* * *

**===At the Bridge===**

No sooner had the team arrived, then there was a very thick fog hiding the bridge's humongous length, allowing Tazuna and the others to see bodies sprawled on top of the bridge. Kakashi and Kurenai were immediately on alert for Zabuza, while some of the genins remembered that time on top of the lake. The killing intent that time was huge and most of them admitted not wanting to face Zabuza once more. Sasuke was the only one feeling anxious to fight. Tazuna immediately ran to the closest man and woke him up. To his relief, the worker wasn't killed and looked at Tazuna with fear in his eyes.

"Shinji-san, what happened here?" Anger was evident in Tazuna's voice, but Kakashi and Kurenai could detect fear as well.

"It was horrible, Ta…zuna, three demons most likely. They came in here, butchering everyone. I don't even understand why they spared me" The information shocked the Konoha shinobi, since they were expecting only two.

"Ahh….Sharingan no Kakashi, we meet again" Just like last time, Zabuza's voice came from within the heavy fog. After speaking, he cleared the visibility a bit to reveal his partners. The hunter-nin was standing on his right and a new man, unknown identity, to his left. Kakashi looked at his features, trying to see if he remembered him from the bingo book. The man was taller than Zabuza and had multiple scars on his face. That alone wouldn't mean much to the scarecrow jounin. But the face was so familiar to him. The enemy was smiling at Kakashi specifically and that in itself was a bad thing.

Kakashi fought a great number of powerful opponents in his prime and he didn't want any of them to appear here. When he saw the two katanas strapped on his back, realization punched him like a ton of bricks and now he felt like switching places with Naruto and staying indoors sleeping. Gatou was really desperate, he reasoned, hiring not one but two A-ranked criminals to do his dirty work. The fact remained, though, that his team was in big trouble. It took both him and Kurenai to deal with Zabuza alone. Now, he'd have to pair her against one of them.

The only question was who?

Both Zabuza and Kyoushu were considered equals in skills as A-ranked missing-nin. Zabuza was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and Kyoushu not only was a master of kenjutsu but also rumored to be one of the best lightning users in Kumogakure. Looking to Kurenai from the corner of his eyes, he realized that if Kurenai wanted to get out of this alive, she would need to use her big guns. He would have to focus on her battle as well. He would fight Zabuza, since Kyoushu was ignorant to her abilities. He also thought about the hunter-nin and who would face her. Naruto still wasn't here and no one aside from Sasuke was prepared to face her. He supposed that Shino could use his bugs to assist Sasuke until help arrived.

It took ten seconds to relay his plan to his peers, until Zabuza interrupted him.

"Huh, it seems one of your genins is quite frightened to see me. He's shaking. Let's scare him a little bit" Zabuza said, as he summoned some mizu bunshins right in front of Uchiha Sasuke. The genin only smirked, before grabbing a kunai.

"I'm shaking alright, but it's from excitement, not fear" The Uchiha vanished from his position and appeared in front of the bunshins as he stared at the enemy. The bunshins were all reduced to water. Zabuza was impressed.

"Huh, sounds like you found a rival in speed Haku. Why don't you take care of the genins? I thought that there would be another one, where's the blond one?" As soon as he asked, the person in question appeared behind Sasuke as if he materialized out of nowhere. Everyone was surprised at the fact that no one sensed him coming. The point was that while they were talking, no one bothered to pay much attention elsewhere.

"Sorry I was late Kakashi-sensei. It's just that I had to get rid of a couple of samurai before coming here" The smirk on his face told everyone that the blond enjoyed every minute of the whole 'getting rid of them' part. They probably had the same fate as the Demon Brothers.

"Naruto, you'll pair up with Sasuke against Haku. Shino and Kiba will be your backup. Hinata and Sakura, you'll protect the client. Hinata keep your byakugan active in case one of the enemies manages to pass by us. That way, you'll have more time to escape with Tazuna. Everyone, this mission escalated to 'A' probably S-ranked mission. So, use everything you have against them, don't hold back" Everyone nodded, before looking at their opponents, sizing them up as much as possible. Hinata and Sakura already took positions in front of Tazuna; Kiba and Shino lined up right in front of them as they calmly observed the fight. At first, Kiba was against the idea of sitting back and watching others fight. However, he saw reason once Shino convinced him that Naruto and Sasuke were the strongest of the group right now.

Naruto and Sasuke stared as the hunter-nin appeared in front of them.

"Is that you Haku?" Naruto asked, earning a nod from the masked kunoichi, before she took it off. It was after all pointless to use a mask once the enemy knows your identity. He, then, turned to Sasuke and wondered why his Sharingan wasn't active yet. Sasuke hoped to catch Haku by surprise later, but what would happen if he was killed before. Naruto was faster than him, without the all-seeing eye and Haku was perhaps faster than Naruto. Suddenly, the hunter-nin charged at both genins with three senbons in each hand. The blond was already positioned before Sasuke could detect any movement. Naruto managed to parry her attack with a pair of kunais, before using force to take her balance away. Sasuke used the opportunity to appear to her right and deliver a solid blow to her stomach, forcing the woman to jump. Almost foreseeing the movement, Naruto jumped one second before her, surprising Haku. He flipped and landed a fierce kick on her chest, sending her flying. Sasuke once more took the opportunity and started some hand seals, before gathering some air inside his lungs.

_**Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu**__ (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)_

The gigantic fireball roared towards Haku, who upon seeing the attack, used hand seals to lift a water barrier in front of her, surprising both Sasuke and Naruto. The blond didn't wait for the water barrier to dispel, before he threw a great load of shurikens at the hunter-nin. When she stopped focusing chakra to the water jutsu, the girl was surprised with the sudden shurikens. She was about to use her speed to dodge them, when she saw Sasuke going through hand seals as well.

_**Katon Housenka no Jutsu**_ (Fire Release: Mythical Phoenix Fire Technique)

Haku dodged all the projectiles – regular and elemental – before throwing senbons at frightening speeds towards the genins. Naruto managed to deflect them using his kunais, but Sasuke wasn't so fortunate, receiving a great deal on his arms. The pain was excruciating, but otherwise he was fine. Naruto charged with his kunai, but Haku parried with one senbon. They were struggling for dominance for a while, before Naruto began to take advantage, using brute force. Haku, though, used, much to the blond's surprise, one handed seals.

_**Hyoton Sensatsu Suishou**_ (Ice Release: Death by a Thousand Flying Water Needles Technique)

Suddenly, water rose from the ocean below them and formed lots and lots of water needles all but ready to turn Naruto into a pincushion. Naruto immediately punched Haku with his free arm, hitting her square on the face, breaking her nose. He saw the needles appear, before he got out of there using a simple kawarimi, replacing himself with a piece of wood that would be used in the bridge's construction. Even with the broken nose, Haku was adamant in defeating them, hence why she focused chakra throughout her feet, increasing her speed exponentially. Naruto couldn't focus on chakra induced limbs, so his senses didn't help him. She managed to land a powerful kick right on his chest, before blocking Sasuke's sequence of punches. She managed to hit a couple senbons on his other arm as well, before going through her ultimate technique.

_**Hyoton Makyou Hyoushou **__(Ice Release: Demonic Ice Mirrors Technique)_

As soon as the two got up, they saw that they were surrounded by the dome. Naruto immediately went to one of the mirrors, inspecting the technique. He figured at first that it was some sort of water technique, but he was surprised upon feeling how _cold _the mirrors were.

"It's my bloodline Naruto-kun. By mixing water and wind jutsu, I can form Ice Release techniques. Both of you fought well up to this point, but no one ever escaped this technique alive. I don't enjoy killing, but for Zabuza-sama, I have to. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for both of you" As soon as she entered inside one of the mirrors, her image was instantly reflected on all of them. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other and nodded.

* * *

**===Jounin's fight===**

As soon as Haku attacked Naruto and Sasuke, it gave a signal for the other fights to commence. Hyoushou immediately sent a B-ranked lightning beam at Kurenai, who managed to dodge effortlessly. She, afterward, used one of her illusions, but the man wasn't fazed by a simple nightmare viewing technique and he dispelled it instantly. He took one of his katanas and attacked Kurenai. The swords were laced with lightning chakra, forcing her to remain on the defensive, until Kakashi came and managed to kick the man in the face, before using a kunai to block Zabuza's sword.

Kurenai, then, used a B-ranked genjutsu at Zabuza, altering his perception of the environment, before throwing kunais at him.

Even though his left was his right now, his instincts aided him and he positioned his sword to block the projectiles. Kyoushu made some hand seals, before opening his mouth.

_**Raiton Gian**__ (Lightning Release: False Darkness Technique)_

The assault on Zabuza was put on hold as the jounins used plain agility to escape, before Kakashi threw two shurikens at the Kumo missing-nin. He instantly made some hand signs, multiplying the shurikens to at least twenty, forcing Kyoushu to use one of his defensive techniques called _**Raiton Seiteki Shouheki**_ (Lighting Release: Static Barrier Technique). The shurikens all stopped in front of him as the man maintained his smirk towards Kakashi. Seeing that Kurenai was attacking Zabuza, he went for a stronger ninjutsu against the Kumo missing-nin. Going through hand seals, he gathered as much air inside his lungs as possible, as he molded the chakra.

_**Katon Karyuu Endan**_ (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Missile Projectile Technique)

Upon seeing the incendiary technique, Zabuza kicked Kurenai, sending her away before going to his partner's aide. The man was by no means fond of another missing-nin, but if he was dead, then Konoha would win and he couldn't have that. Using his legs for propulsion, Zabuza stopped right in front of the technique as he focused on four hand seals sequence ninjutsu.

_**Suiton Suijinheki**__ (Water Release: Water Barrier Technique)_

Kakashi cursed Zabuza for his speed. His technique was stopped by the column of water that rose in front of the swordsmen. Zabuza, for his part, smirked upon seeing Haku's technique materializing in front of him. He was quite proud of that technique, since the girl was quite efficient inside those mirrors. Not even he managed to get out of it unscathed and he was a jounin level shinobi. Those brats maybe good for their age, but they are nothing against Haku.

"Say goodbye to your boys, Sharingan Kakashi" Zabuza said, startling the two Konoha jounins as they looked towards the dome of ice formed behind them. "That technique is Haku's masterpiece. They can't escape. It doesn't matter, though. Both of you will soon join them in the afterlife. _**Ninpou Kirigakure no Jutsu"**_The fog right now was much more dense than before and neither Kurenai nor Kakashi could see a thing, even with the man's Sharingan. "What's the matter Kakashi? Can't you use your eyes?" Zabuza laughed at the jounin's misfortune so much that he ignored Kyoushu complaining that he couldn't see as well.

* * *

**===Sasuke and Naruto===**

No sooner than Haku entered inside the mirrors; Sasuke and Naruto were bombarded with senbons from all over the place. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and thus managed to respond to the senbons assault, dodging the majority of them or at least the ones aimed to his vital points. Naruto focused every bit of chakra throughout his ears in order to hear the weapon travelling towards his location. At the beginning, Haku was quite confident that she would be able to neutralize both of them with the technique. However, now she wasn't so convinced. She realized that before, they weren't going all out against her and it kind of pissed her off. As soon as she increased the speed of the projectiles, Sasuke approached Naruto's position, while the blond was busy doing hand seals.

_**Meiton Kuro Shouheki**__ (Dark Release: Dark Barrier Technique)_

The rain of senbons was immediately stopped by the barrier lifted by Naruto. He maintained the wall, seeing as they were in a bit of a disadvantage. Sure, no senbons reached a vital area so far, but Haku had the vantage point and their room for maneuvers was severely limited. An edge was needed.

"We have to turn the tables here Sasuke. This is getting us nowhere, plus I'm sure keeping your Sharingan active consumes a lot of chakra" Sasuke nodded as he deactivated for a bit, seeing as he was protected from Haku's senbon onslaught.

"I'm able to follow her movements with the Sharingan, but when I move to intercept her, she throws her senbons, it's quite annoying." Naruto looked at Sasuke and wondered how powerful the Sharingan was, seeing as he could follow Haku's speed between mirrors. He knew that Sasuke's eyes weren't fully evolved yet and that fact worried him. If Sasuke managed to keep up with him with an incomplete Sharingan, then once it was complete, he would have lots of trouble keeping up. But that was a thought for another time. He had an idea now.

"Ok then, I'll cover you then. Just focus on following her movements and use a quick Katon technique. Like she said, she has water and wind affinities, which mean that your fire attacks cause more damage" Sasuke nodded before activating his Sharingan just as Naruto deactivated his barrier. The blond immediately focused on more hand seals, before summoning two skeleton bunshins to cover for Sasuke while he focused on Haku's movements. Haku, for her part, continued bombarding them, even though she now remembered who was responsible for the skeleton bunshin that protected the female jounin from Zabuza's attack two weeks ago.

Naruto decided to increase Sasuke's chances by _slowing _her down somewhat. Molding on the necessary hand seals, he managed to invade her chakra system.

_**Mei Gen'ei Meshii no Jutsu**__ (Dark Illusion: Blindness Technique)_

Haku was literally shocked upon suddenly seeing nothing but black, thus she wasn't aware of her direction. It took two seconds for her to realize that someone casted a genjutsu on her. She dispelled it right away, before widening her eyes as an immense fireball was right in front of her face. With little time, she managed to position one of the mirrors in front of her, which managed to save her life. However, she couldn't protect her legs as well. She suffered second degree burns, which hindered her movements. With that, Sasuke managed to grab her legs and throw her towards Naruto, who was going through hand seals in a fast pace.

_**Meiton Kuroi Shokushu**__ (Dark Release: Black Tentacles Technique)_

Naruto managed to grab Haku's limbs, holding her in place. She tried freeing herself using force, but that resulted in her being squeezed even harder. Naruto and Sasuke smirked upon defeating the hunter-nin just as the mirrors disappeared around them. As soon as that happened, everyone saw the scene and were surprised, Zabuza of all people, since he assumed that Haku wouldn't be stopped by mere genins, especially with that technique of hers. Nevertheless, he just couldn't stop focusing on his fight. He maneuvered within the heavy fog and appeared in front of Kurenai, before swinging his gigantic sword at her. The woman wasn't fast enough to evade, thus she received a deep wound on the stomach, resulting in a loud scream of agony. Kakashi was alerted immediately and took some scrolls from his jounin vest. He had to save Kurenai and deal with Zabuza. Once he opened the scrolls, he used a kunai to open a small wound on his finger and sprawled some blood on the scroll, before going through hand seals.

_**Doton Kuchiyose Tsuiga no Jutsu**__ (Earth Summoning Release: Tracking Fang Technique)_

He slammed the scrolls on the ground as the kanjis were dispersed around him. Zabuza saw everything from his position, while laughing at Kakashi's stupid attempts of overcoming the mist. The man was shocked when a great load of dogs appeared behind him and trapped him in place. Kakashi looked at the direction of his dogs and saw Zabuza trapped there. Going through hand seals one more time, he started focusing on his supreme assassination technique Raikiri. Zabuza saw the amount of chakra focused on Kakashi's hand and became afraid that his life would end here. Kyoushu was nowhere to be seen because of the heavy mist as Kakashi charged at the man who by now resigned his fate.

A few meters away from their position, Haku had just admitted defeat and asked both Naruto and Sasuke to kill her. She already stopped fighting, because she knew it would only make it worse. Naruto smirked at the girl, before taking his kunai to end the girl's misery. He stopped cold, though, when that old feeling returned. His chakra had decreased instantly and he felt weak all of a sudden. _Dammit, she awoke Hiton Bloodline…this is no good_. Sasuke, already knowing this, moved for the kill but Haku managed to escape the bindings and teleported away from there, using one of her mirrors. She appeared right in front of Zabuza, before widening her eyes in shock as Kakashi's hand pierced her heart all the way to the other side using his technique. Both Kakashi and Zabuza were shocked at this, but Zabuza smirked and escaped the dog's bindings, before swinging his sword at the still shocked Kakashi.

Kakashi was saved by a wounded Kurenai, who threw a kunai straight at Zabuza's shoulder, stopping his movement immediately. Kakashi used the opportunity and focused once more his Raikiri to, then, pierce Zabuza's heart with his technique. The swordsman felt immeasurable pain for no more than a second, then his eyes lost its color. The heavy mist dissipated and Kyoushu looked around to see where everyone went, before seeing his partner getting killed by Sharingan Kakashi. He looked to the left and saw that the other jounin, despite being deeply hurt, getting up and looking at him. One of the aspects of being a missing-nin, was that one had to take care of his own ass first in order to stay alive. There was no way he was about to face two jounins and six genins all by himself. He already received Gatou's money anyway. The man vanished without a second thought, using a rai shunshin as soon as Gatou and his men appeared on the bridge. He was livid because of Kyoushu's betrayal. Also the fact that Zabuza was killed as well complicated things. Kakashi, while tending Kurenai's wound, saw Gatou's group and turned to the genins.

"Oi Shino, Kiba, please take care of them for us, please. I know you guys were in need of some action" Kakashi smirked as Gatou and his samurai were assaulted by Kiba, Akamaru and Shino's bugs. While this was happening, Kakashi grabbed Kurenai and went back to his group as he saw Naruto and Sasuke talking with each other. "Nice job, you two. Let's go back to Tazuna's house. Our mission is over!" The boys nodded, seeing as Kiba and Shino were taking good care of the enemies that still stood.

* * *

_**Author Note**_

And here's the end of the Wave Arc.

What you all think? This little twist served to show how good Naruto and Sasuke's teamwork can be as well as to increase the level of competition between the two.

I guess that some will not enjoy the fact that Naruto's opposite died so soon, but my intention was merely to show him that he wasn't alone in the world. Now, who's to say that others won't be able to awaken **Hiton** (Light Release)?

Please, I want to hear your opinions. Please review!

See ya.


	11. Trouble at the border

**Author Note**

Hello there!

I was taking some time reading this story from the first chapter, so that I could cover some plot holes, when I saw that the last update was three months ago. Unfortunately, my addiction for new stories is the only one to blame. Therefore, I've picked my two oldest stories (besides Tired and Lone Wolf, which are already finished) and already devised plans to end them. They are Full Moon and the Path of the Hunter-nin. Each will have five more chapters and one epilogue, if necessary. I've already prepared the contents of each chapter and I'll begin right after this one.

With this, I can focus on the rest five (Cursed Eyes, Meshii, Regret, After the Storm and Accursed Brothers), and even a sequel for either Tired or Lone Wolf (the choice will be made by the readers – **check poll on my profile**.)

I'm open for any ideas regarding the stories and ways to finish with style.

Now, last chapter, the wave arc met its end. Naruto won against Haku with Sasuke's assistance and Zabuza was killed by Kakashi. I'm not going to bother with the aftermath from the fight, but the time in Konoha a couple months later, instead. There will be a bit more interaction with Naruto and his family, as well as his first sensei Tonbo. Also, I'll write a small part regarding his training and even a couple of C-ranked missions that his team will perform. This chapter will be the last before the chunnin exams arc.

Here it goes!

* * *

**Chapter 11 – Trouble at the border**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

The sunlight blessed everyone in Konoha with its sunlight. It was one of the warmest days ever registered in Konoha and everyone, who wasn't doing anything important, took the opportunity and filled the lakes that surrounded the village. Some were located in the middle of training grounds, but, much to the shinobi population's frustration, no one cared much about interrupting their training. In their right mind, only a lunatic would be practicing right now. So, the shinobis abandoned their training grounds, from fear of hurting the civilians, who were busy freshening themselves at the lakes.

One person didn't, though. He didn't even care as he practiced the katas of his kenjutsu style.

That fact alone irritated the locals that were trying to enjoy themselves near the lake of Training Ground number 10. What infuriated them even more was the shinobi's identity. Naruto could see the same looks as before, directed at him. However, if he wasn't busy training, he would use both hands and give them the finger…twice. Never in his life was he cautious around others, so he wouldn't start now. It's been three months since the mission to Wave Country and, since then, nothing much happened in his life. His team had two more C-ranked missions since then, but none of them were as dangerous. One consisted in delivering a scroll for a business man located in Fang Country and the other was an escort mission towards Bird Country. The latter was quite different from the first escort mission his team had as it didn't involve missing-nins; only a few bandits here and then, but nothing that the team couldn't handle.

Beyond that, the team, overall, managed to improve their teamwork. Shino's bugs worked well with Naruto's Meiton techniques. Naruto and Shino would constrict the enemy, allowing Hinata to land the finishing move with her jyuuken. Another great move was Shino casting a genjutsu learned by Kurenai at a group of ninjas, while Naruto and Hinata attacked; Naruto with his reversed blade and Hinata with her jyuuken. Overall, the team was growing in terms of skill and Kurenai couldn't be happier about it. When they trained together, it was mostly to improve their taijutsu and chakra control exercises. Since each of the genins learned the heavy stuff on their own, there was no need to focus on each one separately. Shino and Hinata had an entire clan worth of knowledge and experience and Naruto, although also from a clan, managed to learn stuff on his own or when he trained with Sasuke and Kakashi on occasion. Speaking of this new level of rivalry, Naruto and Sasuke sparred against one another almost every day now. Sasuke with his evolved Sharingan and Naruto with his chakra no myaku technique resulted in a very impressive fight for just genin level shinobi. Like Kakashi and Gai, Sasuke and Naruto each had their own share of wins and losses, which further improved their level of rivalry.

They would now compete on how long it took for them to learn a new raiton technique.

Of course, that was only possible once Sasuke agreed not to use the Sharingan once Kakashi used the technique he wanted to teach. Kakashi taught the two genins, two new raiton techniques since their return from Wave Country. The first consisted of sending a shockwave that travelled from the ground, called **Raiton Jibashiri** (Lightning Release: Earth Flash Technique). The other was the **Raiton Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**. Of course, it was meant more for Naruto to use, seeing as it required a larger capacity of chakra, but Sasuke appreciated nonetheless. Naruto even attempted to merge lightning with meiton, but he couldn't do it. Kakashi's theory was that at the time, Naruto was feeling angry at not being able to perform a technique, so his anger triggered the dark chakra. Regardless, it wasn't much Naruto's intention at least not for now.

He needed to improve his physical skills.

The reaction time between his awareness of the enemy's movement and his actual movement was the key to win the fight. His technique would pinpoint the opponent's movements, but Naruto was simply taking too long to act upon it. In order for him to advance in skill, he needed to move his body almost by instinct. Unfortunately, though, from what Kakashi and Kurenai-sensei told him, his ambition would only occur with time and experience. They would advise him to practice the movements constantly, but when it comes to muscle memory, nothing worked better than experience on the battlefield.

After being satisfied with the training, Naruto returned the sword to its respective holster strapped on his back. Right now, it was time for him to visit his sensei like he promised to do. This wasn't the first time he tried, though, to find Tonbo-sensei. The man was a jounin and one highly considered by the Hokage for high level missions. He even met his neighbor, a tokubetsu jounin kunoichi named Anko. The boy admitted having almost zero interaction with others, but even then he could tell that the woman was rather different. Naruto wasn't even bothered when she found out that like Tonbo, Naruto was blind. She even attempted some ridiculous maneuvers to get a rise at the Sarutobi. He didn't tell the woman that he could see everything and eventually, she stopped it. Naruto's chakra could see Anko's body detail and from the first time, he blushed. He might be used to torturing others and even gets a rise at their scream of pain, but never before he had seen breasts as voluptuous. His technique couldn't tell that Anko was wearing a fishnet clothing to cover her skin, so in his teenager clouded mind, the woman was naked.

Despite it all, Naruto managed to compose himself and ask her to give a message to Tonbo-sensei. However, it would be quite some time before the image of Anko's breasts escaped from his mind. The message was for Tonbo to meet him at the Ramen Stand, precisely at lunch time, today. He had no way of knowing, of course, if Anko even had the opportunity to give him the message, but at least he hoped so. A smile suddenly appeared on his face, when he saw the jounin sitting on the first counter of the ramen stand. Tonbo appeared to be talking to the ramen stand owner and his daughter, so the way it appeared, Tonbo was clueless when Naruto appeared inside and took the seating next to him. Of course, seeing that he didn't need to turn his head to look at his ex-student, Tonbo's line of sight remained forward. Naruto was doing the same, which was rather confusing to Teuchi and Ayame.

"Hi Tonbo-sensei, glad you could come." Tonbo could see Naruto smiling at him.

"It's been a while, Naruto-kun, you've grown quite a bit, since the last time we saw each other. I trust that Kurenai-san is treating you well."

"At first, she was the same as everyone, but in time, she got over it and we got along fine. I hear your genin team managed to pass the chunnin exams last year, congratulations Tonbo-sensei." A smile appeared on the man's face as the ramen was served. The two ate in silence for a while, as it was expected from them. Neither enjoyed a lively conversation; their company was enough. Tonbo, though, was analyzing Naruto the entire time. He heard from his peers that his ex-student was considered dangerous because of his new ability called Meiton ninjutsu. Despite what everyone said, though, Tonbo knew better than to believe them. He saw how people used to treat his student once and he was ninety nine percent certain that time did little to ease the tension whenever Naruto is around a civilian or even a ninja with a grudge.

Naruto's posture and awareness were evident to the jounin, as the genin no doubt have been practicing with great effort to overcome his lack of sight.

Those shinobi, that commented on him being dangerous to society, also complemented the boy on his skills. He remembered Kakashi-sempai telling him that Naruto managed to develop a healthy bond with Sasuke Uchiha, a prodigy from Naruto's class. Kakashi, at the time, attributed Naruto's ability to Tonbo's teachings, but actually, the jounin did very little in that regard, only giving Naruto the tools necessary to overcome such an obstacle. It was Naruto alone who crossed the bridge. Tonbo even saw the sword strapped on Naruto's back and smiled at the prospect of his ex-student learning the hidden art of kenjutsu. Overall, Naruto's growth was nothing short of amazing, especially considering that many even had doubt that he would be able to walk without proper assistance.

"Tell me Naruto, I've been hearing bits and pieces about your new skill, but I've never seen up close. I was wondering if you could provide a demonstration later on."

"Sure thing Tonbo-sensei; I was even wondering if I could solve something with you, regarding the chakra no Myaku technique." When Tonbo ushered him to speak, Naruto continued. "On my last mission to Wave Country, I ended up training a lot with Uchiha Sasuke. At the beginning, I was able to anticipate his movements and move accordingly. However, recently, he managed to completely evolve his Sharingan. Even now, I can anticipate his movements; however my body still can't react in time to avoid the hits. Do you happen to have a solution to this? If not, then tell me, then I'll start to think a way out…" Tonbo turned to think about it for a while. For someone his age, Tonbo actually faced less Uchihas then Naruto did. Those that were on his class always made fun of him for not being able to see, so they didn't bother to fight him.

"In some aspects, our ability is similar to the Sharingan, Naruto. Like them, we can predict the enemy's movements by hearing the noises created by the enemy's muscle joints. If what you say is true, than you just need more practice that's all. In time, your body will be more attuned and will learn to react faster. However, well, there is something you could do to diminish the time needed." That was the good news that Naruto was hoping to hear. Tonbo continued to explain, seeing as he finished his bow of ramen. "We always use chakra to increase our hearing perception, but what we shinobi don't realize is that even before the knowledge of chakra, blinded warriors managed the same level of hearing without it, perhaps even better. They would train their hearing sense so much that they could react as soon as the muscle is constricted, allowing the warrior to move even before the opponent begins to attack."

"I don't understand much what…."

"In our case, we move after the movement is performed, right?" Naruto nodded, so Tonbo continued. "What if, instead of waiting for your opponent to complete his movement, you anticipate his position and attack." The genin, then, tried imagining how Tonbo's theory would work in practice. He saw an image of a leg muscle constricting, before the opponent jumps to a certain location. Now, he started analyzing the movement in slow motion. The muscle would begin the constriction, but before its movement was complete, Naruto would be upon the enemy, forcing him to stop whatever he was about to do. He considered Tonbo's hypothesis as valid after that, but for it to happen, Naruto would have to eliminate all sorts of outside sounds and focus solely on the determined muscle.

"Wouldn't that be hard, I mean, there are lots of sounds on the battlefield. How can we focus only on the enemy's muscle?"

Tonbo nodded, though, because he was thinking the same thing.

"That's the point, isn't it? Our way of fighting is dirty, quite different from the samurai or a warrior. If we focus on muscles alone, the sound of a kunai may be missed and that's the end of it. However, I believe that with enough practice, we wouldn't have to focus solely on one point in particular, Naruto. As I taught you before, each of our five senses are powerful on its own right. Each one, if trained hard enough, could better assist the shinobi through the mission and I'm not speaking about blinded shinobi only. Perhaps, your friend Uchiha could aid you in this regard, seeing as aside from him, there isn't many genins who would oppose you in skill. The Sharingan is a powerful weapon, but the eyes alone aren't much if the body is underdeveloped. That means that Sasuke must train his speed constantly. You could use that to your advantage, Naruto."

"Of course, even if he managed to anticipate my movements, I could anticipate his afterwards as well. That way, I'll be able to move after he does."

Naruto may be adopted by the Sarutobi Clan, but Tonbo guessed that the genin ended up incorporating the clan's intellect. Of course, understanding the theory was one thing, but applying it to practice was another. Tonbo knew one thing, though, which he most admired in Naruto. There wasn't anything that Naruto couldn't do if he really wanted to. The boy's commitment towards improvement was off the charts and Tonbo had no doubt that the genin would be able to overcome said obstacle. They resumed talking for a while, when Kurenai walked inside the tent, greeting the two blinded shinobi. It was quite humorous to see that they greeted her as well, without even turning their heads to see her.

Obviously, by this time, she was accustomed to the fact that Naruto wouldn't need to face her, to start a conversation.

She told him that his team had a new C-ranked mission. Naruto apologized to his former sensei, but the man just nodded at him with a smile on his face, saying that Naruto could show his Meiton techniques another time. Tonbo just asked if Kurenai could give them some time alone, since he wanted to tell something to Naruto; something that he wanted his student to know, given the boy's actions since he learned the use of dark chakra. The woman was able to sense the seriousness behind Tonbo's voice and nodded to the man, only telling Naruto that he needed to meet her at the gates in two hour and he was supposed to pack for a week long trip.

"I was hoping to talk to you after your demonstration Naruto, but I guess now is as good time as any." Naruto could see that the man's heart was beating fast, meaning that, whatever he wished to discuss, was a sensitive manner. "Hokage-sama explained to me how your Meiton techniques work. Although both you and I are surrounded by darkness, it doesn't mean that our actions have to be guided by it as well. The chakra no Myaku technique is a blessing to us since it allows us to overcome darkness. I know that the angrier you feel, the more powerful you become. I know that you didn't start any of the fights you've been involved in, but you must learn how to better direct your anger." Tonbo didn't know how to ask this of his student, but it was for the best. He didn't want to see Naruto having to defend himself his entire life. The genin remained silent for a while, absorbing what Tonbo said to him. So far, there wasn't any reason for him to believe that Tonbo was against his actions regarding those who believed he was the demon.

He could see concern coming from his sensei. Naruto's mouth showed a timid smile at the man's concern.

"I know that I can't act like I used to against those who wronged me, hence why the attacks ceased when I became a genin; whether the headband is the reason or not, it's irrelevant. Don't worry Tonbo-sensei, I have those who see me for me. There is you, my family, my team…to me it's enough. However, while I won't use my techniques against civilians anymore, I can't say the same with chunnins and jounins. Every time I walk throughout the streets, I can sense people's hatred directed at me. Who's to say that a chunnin or even a jounin wouldn't attack me? I'm not saying that I would move for the kill, but I'd punish them just as they would do, if I was caught." Upon hearing it, Tonbo sighed in dismay. He supposed it was a victory, considering that Naruto would put it past him, the civilians' actions. But he couldn't say the same for the shinobi population. In the end, though, the man believed that any higher ranking official, who dared to attack a genin, would have to suffer punishment for it.

"I can see your reasoning Naruto but you can see my concern. Just remember this, though, darkness is all around us, but it can't dictate our actions. Now, I believe you must pack for your mission."

The two blinded shinobi said their goodbyes to one another, before Naruto left in a shunshin. Tonbo left the Ramen stand afterwards and wondered if he should warn the Hokage in case of Naruto killing a chunnin or a jounin. He chose not to. If some chunnin or jounin attacks Naruto, for no reason besides a misguided hatred, then the man would have deserved his punishment. Placing both hands inside his pockets, the blind jounin started to walk throughout the populated streets. He could see that Kakashi was coming in his direction. As soon as their paths were crossed, Tonbo used the opportunity to report his attempts to the elite jounin.

"There is no reason for worry, sempai." Kakashi just nodded, while maintaining his path towards nowhere. However, the smile on his face was quite evident besides his mask.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

As soon as Naruto closed the door of his house, his technique warned him of someone coming straight at him. The genin just sighed at the attacker's attempts and took one small step to the right just as little Konohamaru passed by him. The little Sarutobi fell on the floor hard, but he didn't cry because of it. He took a seat on the ground and started nurturing his nose. It wasn't broken, but it was hurting a lot. Despite it all, he looked at Naruto and wasn't surprised to see that his big brother was smiling at Konohamaru, something that the kid never enjoyed it. He wanted to be as good as his brother was, but he couldn't catch him off guard.

"Ah Naruto-niisan, you're so mean. How do you even know I was coming?" The genin kneeled and helped his little brother up.

"I use chakra for that Otouto, you know that. Now, I can see that your speed improved since last time. It took a second more for me to spot your attack. Tou-san must be training you hard, I see." Right now, the two brothers were walking towards the living room.

"Yes, he is. I want to be as strong as you are someday. You are blind, yet you are one of the strongest genins in Konoha. That's amazing Niisan." Boys his age tended to exaggerate on things, but still Naruto was curious.

"Who told you I'm one of the strongest?" He saw his mother entering the room.

"I did, who else?" Mikoto said, before Konohamaru embraced her affectionately. "I wouldn't take you for modest Naruto-kun. Everyone has been speaking highly of your achievements thus far. Your mission to Wave Country it's still the talk amongst the chunnins and jounins. It's not every day you stand up against one of the Seven Swordsmen and survive. And since then, you managed to show everyone how skilled you became. I'm quite proud of you, son. We all are." Naruto smiled at his mother's complements and nodded at her. Naruto didn't know many of the genins in Konoha, which is why he was curious when Konohamaru said he was one of the strongest.

"Thanks Kaa-san. We have another C-ranked mission that starts in two hours. Kurenai-sensei hasn't told much about it, though. I have to go pack." The woman nodded and kissed his head, before taking Konohamaru towards the kitchen to give him something to eat. Naruto watched them go with a smile on his face. He remembered what Tonbo-sensei said, and somehow, he almost understood what he was saying. He had people to protect. Memories from what Haku said to him now appeared in his mind. He went upstairs and started packing the essentials. Given the fact that Kurenai didn't give him an estimate on how long they would be gone, then packing clothes and supplies wasn't necessary. So, he equipped both pouches with shuriken, kunai and some trip wire, just in case. He took one last look at his sword and studied it for a second with his hand. By slowly feeling the metal, he could tell if it he could use it on the mission. His dad always advised him to do that. It was meant as some form of ritual, before a fight or a mission. Apart from finding eventual cracks, these few minutes would allow him to free his mind off anything that wasn't related to the mission or the fight ahead.

Distractions could kill you, his tou-san said many times.

Once he packed everything he needed for the trip, Naruto left his house towards the gates. He still had half an hour left, but he at least could get the mission briefing if Kurenai, or even one of his teammates, was already there waiting.

* * *

**===At the Gates===**

True to Naruto's plan, Kurenai was already there waiting for her team. Upon arriving, she told him that the others were already briefed, so he was the last to know about the mission. According to the woman, their team was supposed to deliver a scroll handed by the Hokage to a jounin that was stationed at the border between Fire and Wind Country. Kurenai reasoned that given the unimportance of the information, at least as enemies were concerned, their team wouldn't meet any opposition along the way. Naruto nodded and waited for his teammates to arrive. Shino was the second to arrive with Hinata close by. Overall, the entire team was only late for five minutes, so Kurenai didn't reprimand them.

"Okay team, let's go…our objective is at least two days from here. Naruto will lead and Hinata will take the rear. Shino and I will be on the middle. Hinata, your Byakugan will aid us in spotting enemies from all directions. Naruto's technique will serve to scout ahead while Shino will use his bugs to form a perimeter around us. As I said to Naruto, it's my fair belief that we won't encounter any enemies, bandits quite possibly, but not other shinobi." The three genins nodded at their sensei, before charging towards the border between Fire and Wind Country. As per Kurenai's orders, Naruto was the one leading the squad and Hinata was the last one, using her Byakugan on occasion to see enemies from almost every direction. Kurenai looked at her team with a mix of pride and worry. She was privy by the Hokage regarding her team's real mission. While she knew that Naruto was capable of holding his own against chunnin level shinobi, she wasn't sure about Shino and Hinata. And if push comes to shove and the enemy manages to handle Kurenai and Naruto, then the other two would be on their own.

The fact that the other jounin would be present as well was a blessing, but still from what she understood, the number of enemies was an unknown factor.

Worst of it all was that the Hokage knew about this and instead of sending a highly qualified full assault team, he sent her team instead.

The Hokage wanted to send Kakashi's team, because this happened to be their field of expertise; however they were selected for another mission, something about bandits raiding a small village near Takigakure. The Hokage assured her that the jounin that was stationed would be able to handle anything related to C, B and even A ranked missions, so she shouldn't be worried for her team's safety. Kurenai admitted that the man they were about to meet was no pushover. He was a former Anbu, close to Kakashi's level and one of Konoha's best swordsmen. Nevertheless, a ninja is always supposed to trust his or her instincts and Kurenai never betrayed hers. Despite having two jounins on this mission, she would play cautious with her genins.

They are her responsibility after all.

After close to six hours travelling, Kurenai decided to call in for the day and ordered her team to make camp. Her decision was due to two factors. One, It was almost night time, so it was prudent to travel only with daylight. The other factor was both Hinata and Shino's chakra reserves. Because of the Kikaichuu, most of Shino's chakra served to feed the bugs, hence why he couldn't travel long distances, yet. His chakra coils are still developing, after all. Hinata was using her Byakugan constantly and was tired after a while. She didn't need to worry about Naruto, seeing as he had more stamina and chakra than, perhaps, a jounin. She even dared saying that his capacity surpassed hers. Kurenai always used genjutsu techniques, so her chakra coils were never truly tested. As a result, her chakra capacity suffered for it. Now, though, was too late as her chakra coils were already formed. She wasn't complaining, though.

She used a couple of ninjutsu here and there, but her style was her illusions. After a quick dinner, the team went to sleep with each ninja performing guard duty for two hours each.

Shino was first, Naruto was second, followed by Hinata and then Kurenai. When it came to Naruto's turn, he climbed a considerably tall tree and used a small log to get comforted, while he begins to mediate. His goal was to improve his hearing, without the use of chakra. According to Tonbo-sensei, by further improving his hearing capabilities, his ability to predict the enemy's movement would increase as well. He cleared his mind out of everything that could interrupt his concentration and just picked on the noises supplied by nature. He could hear the delicate sounds of a nearby water stream and even the relaxed sound of a small waterfall a couple meters to his right. Part of his training involved not only to hear the sounds, but to pinpoint where they were coming from. The blond was rather amused when a strong noise invaded his ears. Despite Shino's calm and rather collective nature, when he went to sleep, he ended up snoring a lot. Naruto didn't mind, neither did his teammates, so he focused on other sounds provided by nature.

Lots of animals were making their presence known, each with their respective sound. Naruto could hear owls from his left; he could hear monkeys presumably talking between each other, perhaps, on top a tree located a couple meters from his location. He could also pinpoint several fireflies emitting its high pitched noises, but he couldn't count exactly how many. It took some chakra for him to do that. As he focused chakra for his seeing technique, he realized that he enjoyed such exercises. He concluded that every chance he got, he would stop and listen for a while, trying to deduce the one responsible for the sound and its location.

* * *

**===Two days later===**

Two days later, the group arrived at their destination. The border between Fire and Wind Country wasn't a specific location. Its division only existed in maps, but as far as mission went, it was considered a specified location. However, Team 8 looked around for any presence that would indicate their objective's position. The area was empty, except for a few trees located on Fire Country's side. A few dead logs completed the scenery. Hinata was busy scouting the area with her Byakugan, but she had no such luck. Whoever the jounin was, he was nowhere to be seen. Kurenai already knew that the man's skill in avoiding detection, even from the byakugan, but she didn't say anything. She also couldn't pinpoint his location, but she was no tracking specialist.

The group was slightly surprised when a sudden blur appeared in front of them, revealing the jounin from Konohagakure.

"Greetings, Kurenai-san, what brings you here?" The man wore the standard jounin attire, except that instead of long sleeves, his was short, like a T-shirt. He had gray hair and a small ponytail. Kurenai's team could see a small scar located close to his mouth and a ninjato strapped on his waist. The fact that neither one of the genins managed to spot his location left them bewildered. All three of them happened to possess skills related to tracking others. Hinata had the Byakugan, Shino had his kikaichuu and Naruto used his chakra to see around him.

"Greetings, Hayama-san, we were sent by Hokage-sama to deliver you this scroll."

The jounin took the scroll and opened it, while Kurenai and her team waited his response. Seeing as the team's experience with missions of this caliber, the genins weren't certain of what to do next. It was their fair belief that once the scroll was delivered, the mission was completed. When Kurenai just stood there, waiting for the man to finish reading, the genins started looking at each other for an explanation. Hayama sighed once, before closing the scroll and burning it right in front of them, much to everyone's shock, except Kurenai. It was standard procedure to get rid of the message, after receiving it. Who knew what could happen if an enemy village took a hold of a mission report signed by the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure.

"So, you four are the backup I requested."

Hayama knew from the scroll that they weren't briefed properly regarding the second part of their mission. Seeing the look on their faces, he decided to explain. The blond genin wasn't looking directly at him, which bothered him a bit. He didn't know Naruto's condition, so he figured that the boy was ignoring him. Despite this, he began the explanation. "A few miles away from here, in Wind Country's territory, a village is being terrorized by missing-nins recently and the village leader requested help to the Wind Daimyou. The man, for some reason, hired Konoha instead of Sunagakure to see what was going on. I was dispatched by Hokage-sama to scout the area and see what was really happening. The missing-nins' identities are unknown, which means that their skills aren't too threatening. However, when I assume they lack in skill, their numbers ends up compensating. From what I could gather, there are a total of ten missing-nins, four from Kirigakure, three from Kumogakure and the rest is from Takigakure. The second part of my mission, which now became yours; it's a B-ranked, regarding the capture of these missing-nins, if possible. We are allowed to kill them, if capture is impossible."

When the expression 'B-ranked' was spoken, the genins visibly flinched. It was understandable, seeing as they left Konoha for a simple C-ranked mission and it turned into a B-ranked.

"Now, I already know Kurenai-san's abilities and since I'm the leader of this mission, I have to take your skills into consideration so that I could devise a suitable strategy. I've worked together with the Aburame and Hyuuga Clan before, so I have a pretty decent knowledge of the two of you." He, then, turned to Naruto. "I don't know much about you, though. Who are you and what are your skills?" Naruto was at first surprised that the man asked his name, because he guessed that every single human being in Konoha already knew his name, because of what he contained. Despite it all, he answered the question as accurately as he could.

"My name is Sarutobi Naruto, Hayama-taichou. I focus in Elemental ninjutsu, genjutsu and kenjutsu. My element is lightning and I possess the ability of using dark chakra techniques." Despite the man's stoic expression on his face, he felt like punching himself repeatedly. He knew who Naruto was, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. When the boy was born, he had joined Anbu and thus he had private access to any available information there was about the jinchuuriki. He even knew what the boy meant by dark chakra techniques. Hayama, like every Anbu, didn't think badly of Naruto. But he admitted not caring much about him. He was surprised, upon remembering that Naruto had lost his sight right after birth. So, now, it wasn't such a surprise that Naruto wasn't looking at him.

"Okay, everyone, the village is in siege right now and the missing-nins took control. We cannot just barge inside and attack them. First, because I couldn't see any villagers, which means that if anything happens to them, the villagers may be harmed. Secondly, we don't know what their skills are. Besides their village of origin, we don't have much to work on. So, basically, we're going in blind. Since you three are Kurenai's genins, I'll presume that you understand the art of illusions. Here is the plan I came up with…" Hayama began to explain what he believed was the proper action plan in order to regain the control of the village.

* * *

**===the village===**

Kegon was busy protecting the village's entrance as the leader of the organization instructed him to. Kegon was a C-ranked missing-nin from Takigakure. He was kicked out of the village once the village leader caught him threatening a civilian. He had black hair, a black goatee and he wore a simple green t-shirt and black Anbu style pants. He was cursing each second there as, according to his called comrades, he was doing the mission a favor by guarding the village. Kegon knew, better than most, the reason why he was the one chosen to guard the village entrance. He was the weakest of them all, so it was only fair to give him such a low-class assignment. The man was surprised once he felt something wrong, all of a sudden. The sky was, slowly, losing its blue color and he was he could feel tension all around him as if an enemy was nearby. His senses were on edge the entire time and he even grabbed a kunai in preparation for the assault. His comrades would regret underestimating him.

The man was shocked when in front of him, hundreds of kunais travelled towards his position.

_**GenMeiton Kuroiya no Kunai **_(Dark Illusion: Rain of Black Kunai Technique)

A drop of sweat appeared on his face as he realized that he just couldn't dodge all of them. He closed his eyes, waiting for the impact. When he didn't feel metal piercing his skin, he opened his eyes and saw that the kunais were passing right through him as if it were just ghosts. Kegon smirked, knowing this to be a genjutsu and hence it consisted of confusing his senses. But he wouldn't fall for such a low trick. He smirked knowing that he could defeat the attacker, when he suddenly flinched in desperate pain. He looked down and widened his eyes upon seeing a lone kunai piercing his chest. He was dead before he even had time to ponder anything. Before his body fell on the ground, the five shinobi from Konoha appeared and took his body, so that no one discovered their position. After placing him behind a faraway tree, Kurenai congratulated Naruto on the job well done with his new genjutsu technique. Of course for her to realize what Naruto just did, she was subjected, a couple weeks ago to the technique. The only real aspect of the technique was the kunai that was on the man's chest.

One down, nine to go.

After Hinata pinpointed everyone's position, Hayama gathered everyone and declared the initiation of the plan. They would be dividing in three groups. Naruto and Shino would form a pair and enter the village through the right side. According to Hinata, there are two missing-nins there, both from Kumogakure. Kurenai and Hinata will attack from the left side, where two Sunagakure missing-nins are located. Hayama would go alone towards the south entrance of the village. He would take care of the rest missing-nins. From what Hinata could tell, the majority of the missing-nins were C-ranked at best, but there was one that appeared to be stronger, almost jounin level. From the Hyuuga's description, it appeared to be Suien, A-ranked missing-nin from Takigakure. He conspired against his home village, aiming to steal the hero water. Hayama needed to be careful, seeing as he had to defeat not only Suien, but the rest of the missing-nins as well.

"Naruto, Shino…I'm afraid I'll be needing assistance from you two. Suien is an A-ranked missing-nin. I can take him one on one, but the rest of the missing-nins will be a bother. I'm counting on you two to deal with them." Both genins nodded, before each group went to different routes.

* * *

**===Naruto and Shino===**

Both genins were hiding behind the bushed as they spotted the two targets up ahead. Like Hinata explained, they were both from Kumogakure, but while the hidden village in the cloud was famous for producing top-notch shinobi, these two looked like they couldn't scare academy students. They both wore the standard chunnin attire from the village. The one from the right side had short black hair and he wore a pair of glasses. The other one, from the left, also wore glasses, but his were sunglasses like Shino used. He was bald and had dark skin. Overall, if appearances were true, they would look like fresh out of the academy genins. Analyzing the situation a bit, Naruto turned to Shino.

"We can't allow them to know of our position, Shino. We need to strike fast and precise. Here is the plan, you use a altering perception genjutsu on both of them and I'll take care of the rest, sounds good?" Shino had enough interaction with the blinded shinobi and just nodded.

Shino focused some chakra for his genjutsu technique, before they saw the Kumo missing-nins looking around frantically, wondering what the hell was going on. Naruto nodded and began his own series of hand seals.

_**Meiton Kuro Senbon**_ (Dark Release: Dark Needles Technique)

The needles travelled fast and hit both missing-nins in almost every possible location on their bodies. The two of them were down for the count as Shino ordered his bugs to stop their fall and bring them to the Aburame's location. Hayama almost exhausted himself saying that the moment the enemy realizes that something was wrong, their mission was over. At least, until they caught all of the missing-nins, every villager was in danger. No one knew what happened to the villagers, but they presumed that after dealing with the missing-nins, they would search for the villagers afterwards. After dealing with the two kumogakure missing-nins, Naruto and Shino managed to infiltrate the village from their side. They were now hidden behind the last building as Naruto looked around a bit. He couldn't see movement from the street in front of them and he couldn't hear anything either. Even if the missing-nins had taken everyone hostages, the villagers would be kept somewhere. A lone insect left Shino's sleeve, surprising Naruto for a moment, before he nodded at his partner's initiative. A swarm of insects would alert the enemy but one wouldn't strike out as odd to them. For now, their path was to advance towards the other missing-nins, in order to aid the jounin Hayama.

Naruto at first thought about checking if Kurenai and Hinata were okay.

But they could handle themselves right now. Hayama was the most pressing concern, seeing as he was up against the strongest missing-nin. Upon hearing that this Suien person was possibly the same level as Zabuza surprised Naruto. He wondered if Hayama would be able to defend himself against the man and the other missing-nins. Moving with deadly efficiency and stealth, Shino and Naruto moved towards the location where the missing-nins were located. Their presence should only be revealed when at least the numbers were even. In order to avoid detection, both Naruto and Shino used a cloaking genjutsu around themselves, in order to avoid detection as they moved from building to building, towards their final target. AS they approached, the sound of metal clashing against metal and water jutsus showed them that the fight started.

True to Naruto's hearing, Hayama was doing his best in defending himself against Suien and three other missing-nins from Takigakure. As it appeared, the enemy knew only suiton jutsus, but that didn't mean they were weak, far from it. Zabuza only knew suiton jutsu and he was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Getting into position, Naruto signaled for Shino to cover him, while he prepared for his attack. Even if the enemy sensed the sudden flux of chakra, he wouldn't be able to react in time to stop it. Beginning the long hand seal sequence, Naruto's hands began to spark in electricity.

_**Raiton Raikou no Ookami**__ (Lightning Release: Lighting Wolf Technique)_

From the energy that left his hand, a growling wolf charged at the unsuspecting enemy from Waterfall. When the missing-nin turned, he was shocked to see a blue wolf already inches from his position. When the attack made contact, the missing-nin screamed to the heavens as his body was bombarded with lightning. Naruto knew that a lightning technique was the most indicated, seeing as the man was a suiton user. Despite the fact that lightning was most effective against earth techniques, water is considered the best conduit for energy. So, instead of a quick and painless kill, the missing-nin suffered ever second, before falling on the ground. The fight stopped immediately and Hayama thanked the heavens that the boys gave him an opening to rest. Suien was a much stronger opponent than Hayama gave him credit for.

The other missing-nin from Takigakure attempted to attack Naruto, but he was surprised when a bunch of insects surrounded him and started sucking his chakra dry.

He was unconscious soon afterwards. Hayama took the opportunity and attacked Suien with his sword. As soon as he was within striking distance, he focused a great load of chakra and channeled it towards his ninjato.

_**Fuuton Shinkuken (**__Wind Release: Shock Blade Technique__**)**_

Suien was caught by surprise but managed to create a sword made of water quickly, blocking the attack. From that point on, the two high ranked shinobi engaged in pure kenjutsu battle, while Naruto and Shino dealt with the other missing-nin kunoichi. The woman had that arrogant look on her face and her outfit betrayed every standard notion there is to know about ninjas. She wore a gray dress a blue scarf around her neck. Despite this, Naruto could feel great chakra capacity from her. He grabbed his sword and charged at the woman, who like Suien, created a water sword and parried the blond's strike. Her skills with the sword were better than Naruto and her speed was superior to his.

She managed to force Naruto back, before transforming her sword into a water whip and hit the blind boy twice. Naruto, though, managed to grab the water whip after the second hit and focused lightning chakra through it. The kunoichi named Hisame was experienced and let go of the technique, before the current reached her. Shino used his bugs to charge at her, but her agility allowed her to escape. The bugs relented, though, and Hisame was forced to keep dodging. Naruto took the opportunity and prepared to catch her off guard. The woman was of a higher level than they had anticipated. Still, Naruto could feel that the woman was the kind of person that wouldn't be able to escape his technique. He had to thank Shino for the needed distraction.

Hisame was cursing the relentless bugs as she tried using her water ninjutsu against them. Even if she managed to take one or two, it was impossible to take them all with water. When the woman backed away one more time, she was surprised when from below the ground; black tendrils appeared trapping her. The woman snarled at her lack of attention for the other genin as she saw him in front of her with a smirk on his face. She snarled at him, even yelling him to let her go, but every time she did so, she felt the tendrils squeezing her harder. Not able to use her hands, she couldn't use jutsus to save her life, so she resorted to brute strength in a vague attempt to escape the tendrils.

It was her second and last mistake.

"No matter what you do, the angrier you are, the stronger those tendrils will become." By now, her anger was substituted by excruciating pain as the tendrils began to draw blood from the missing-nin. Eventually, the woman passed out from the pain and Naruto decided to release the tendrils, before the woman fell on the ground. Shino's bugs did their part and sucked her chakra dry. Afterwards, Shino and Naruto turned to see the jounin level battle just as Suien finished a long series of hand seals.

_**Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu**__ (Water Release: Water Dragon Projectile Technique)_

Hayama was already focusing chakra through his sword once more as he used the same technique he used to attack Suien earlier. The strong wind force was enough to hold the water dragon for a while, until he was able to dodge the technique. Hayama, then, whispered some incoherent words, before he multiplied. Suddenly, two versions of him attacked from both sides and Suien wasn't sure what was going on. After both copies of Hayama passed by him, Suien turned to his back, but he couldn't see either one of the copies. The man saw the shadow on the floor, but was too late to stop Hayama for using his sword and decapitated the missing-nin, just as Hinata and Kurenai arrived with their captured missing-nins. After every missing-nin was dealt with, Hayama turned to his team.

"Well, the missing-nins were dealt with, but we still have to locate the villagers."

Everyone saw a lone bug flying towards Shino, before landing on his fingernail.

"The villagers are inside a cave two miles east from this location. Naruto, Hinata and Kurenai smirked at their comrade and Hayama nodded. Shino was an Aburame after all.

Eventually, the villagers were freed from their cages and the ninjas from Konoha returned to their home village, taking both the dead and the captured missing-nins for the proper bounties later.

* * *

**Author Note**

So, what you all think?

As I said, this chapter was the bridge towards the beginning of the Chunnin Exams arc.

See ya next chapter.


	12. Chunnin Exams

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Meshii.

Like I said last chapter, I've created a side mission before I proceed with the chunnin exams, which will begin in this chapter. Now, I'll be changing the first test, simply because as I stated before – in some of the chapters – Naruto cannot read, except in Braille and a written test wouldn't be written like that. That being said, I've created a more physical oriented exam regarding a false mission – a chunnin level mission – in order to test those who wish to apply for the promotion.

Before I begin with the chapter, though, I'll take some time and answer the reviews from last chapter.

* * *

**ChronoMitsurugi – **You're forgetting about another person who fits the personality for Hiton. I won't tell, but it's quite easy to figure out. It will be quite a disaster as far as team dynamics is concerned, but I'll focus on this later. As to his pairing, even though I also love Anko, she won't be either. So far, I'm inclined to be open with you and say that Naruto won't have a pairing. He may have the occasional sleep over with some women, but Naruto, at least this Naruto, doesn't fit the type who would look someone for marriage or having kids. This is my position so far, but I'm inclined to second thoughts later on.

**Kingminato** – There won't be any direct confrontation between meiton and hiton users, I'm afraid. The show is too much crowded with villains already for that thought to enter my head. Besides, the plot isn't settled between light and dark, good vs. evil; but rather the fierce attrition between hidden villages and what they do to survive in a world when nothing is absolute. I believe that Kishimoto ended up backing himself into a corner, because he created a Universe where pretty much every character could be evil and every character could be good. Take the Yondaime Hokage and Iwagakure for instance. It's all a meter of perspective. In Konoha, he's hailed as a hero, but in Iwagakure he is treated the same way Kyuubi was. Now, the creator, with all due respect and admiration, has transformed said world by uniting the entire world against nine single individuals, thus, in my opinion, ruining the entire universe he created in the first place. Who can tell me any possible future for the series after the end of the Shippuden timeline?

Of course, there is the possibility of villages joining and turning against Konoha to destroy it, but Kishimoto wouldn't do that. Not that I would complain, in fact I believe it is the serie's own possible future, based on the theory created by Kishimoto.

**Lednacek** – Please tell me where you read this. Railroads indeed only appeared in Snow Country, but as far as I can tell, there was no mention that railroads _only _existed in Snow Country.

Ok now we're clear for the chapter, check it out!

* * *

**C****hapter 12 – Chunnin Exams**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Naruto's last mission and he was found training as he usually was. His team would only begin their training in one hour, so the boy was busy training with two other ninjas he grew fond of sparing with over time. Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Kakashi, both considered the only Sharingan users in Konoha and thus fighting them could teach Naruto a great deal about anticipating the enemy's movements. Plus, with Kakashi being considered a ninjutsu specialist, the man had some nice tips on elemental manipulation, not to mention actual jutsus that he copied from some Kumo ninjas throughout his career. As far as fire manipulation was concerned, Sasuke had no qualms about learning that from Kakashi. His clan had studied the field since its foundations and thus he had an extensive library of fire jutsus and fire elemental manipulation exercises to increase his skills. What he really wanted from the jounin was to increase his second element, lightning.

He knew that right now attempting to match Kakashi in taijutsu was stupid as the man was an elite jounin, the likes of which only his hated brother could match.

That being said, Sasuke would often test his luck in close combat with Naruto. He wasn't disappointed, though, as despite his opponent's lack of sight, Sarutobi Naruto proved to be a rather fine opponent, landing some fine strikes on Sasuke and managing to block or evade Sasuke's attacks with great precision as if his eyes were fully functional. Even with the Sharingan, it became difficult to land a good hit on Naruto. Sasuke's speed managed to increase because of it, but as Naruto explained, his chakra infused senses sent him signals in the middle of the battlefield, warning him of what was about to happen. Naruto always trusted his instincts, simply because he had to. There was no other way around it, he mused. Right now, the two were battling against each other using straight taijutsu and projectiles, as per Kakashi's instructions. Using powerful ninjutsu is sometimes ill advised, simply because it took too much chakra and revealed your weakness rather quickly. Imagine if Sasuke used a great fireball technique, confident that he would win the battle, only for his opponent to reveal himself as a water user. Sasuke would be outmatched and would lose the battle, because he ended up showing himself as a fire user, not to mention the waste of chakra.

Looking at the blind Sarutobi, Kakashi couldn't help but marvel at Naruto's movements.

Naruto's lack of sight resulted in him relying on his other senses to aid him in battle. Because of this, he needed his utmost concentration so as to not get caught by surprise. This lead to him studying everything in minor detail and moving exactly when it was needed. The number of wasted movements was slowly reducing to zero. Indeed, these two were the perfect rivals as each saw the other as strong and skilled. Both were in deep need of surpassing one another constantly and that would only lead towards their growth, Kakashi reasoned. After ushering both to stop the spar, Kakashi threw one scroll for each.

"Inside the scroll, I've written information on a new lightning manipulation exercise as well as a new B-ranked jutsu for both of you. _**Raiton Kusari Raikou (**__Lightning Release: Lightning Chain Technique) _is the name and it's considered very powerful even if it affects a wider area. Naruto, I believe it's about time you go and met your team, so we'll see each other same time tomorrow." Naruto nodded and bid both Sharingan users goodbye, before walking towards the place where he would meet Team 8. Looking at his back, Sasuke smiled and started rubbing his limbs to ease the pain received from Naruto's attacks. Seriously, getting around that monkey fist of his was quite troubling. But Sasuke could feel the results and he considered them to be satisfactory. Sasuke's Sharingan was still far from full evolution and when he reached the third stage, he no doubt will surpass Naruto in every aspect. He just wished he could understand why Kakashi was against them fighting in ninjutsu. "Meiton jutsus are very lethal Sasuke; perhaps more so than any element, because it gets stronger when in the presence of negative emotions." Those were his sensei's words as he showed what happened to the last person that received one of Naruto's techniques.

Sasuke's interest in overcoming Naruto never ceased, though.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

As the blind shinobi walked throughout the busy streets of Konoha, he was busy using his chakra as a substitute for his eyes, ears and movements. He ignored the hateful glares and the negative commentaries sent at him as he continuously dodged the people coming from the opposite direction. With his hands in pockets, the boy couldn't help but imagine what would happen if he had decided to unleash his sword on these people. Surely, it would be nice to hear their screams of fear, but Naruto knew better than to act on his dark thoughts. He had promised his old sensei that he wouldn't attack civilians, even if they tried attacking him. On a side note, Tonbo said nothing about subtle attacks that wouldn't exactly wound them.

A small smirk was visible as Naruto, while passing by, began performing some hand seals, while focusing on a stranger that was staring at him like that.

The man's eyes suddenly widened as right in front of him, black vines appeared and started attacking him. The crowd was surprised to see the man on the ground, begging for mercy at nothing. Since no one could see a genjutsu, no one realized what exactly happened, nor could the victim as he wasn't aware of the possibility of such attack. It took five seconds for the illusion to be dispelled and the man's vision returned to normal. He was looking around and seeing all eyes on him, believing that the man had lost his mind and started seeing things that weren't there. The only one who smirked at the situation was the blind genin as he continued to walk towards his meeting place. He could hear the sound of laughter from inside his head and reasoned that Kyuubi must have enjoyed the scene as well.

Perhaps now that man will think twice before looking at Naruto like that.

* * *

**===At Team 8's meeting place===**

Five minutes after his little experiment, Naruto arrived at the location where his team usually met. To his surprise, though, no one had showed up yet, which was weird considering that normally Shino would be the first one to arrive, followed by Kurenai and Hinata. Strangely enough, the two women of the team always arrived together. Naruto, until now, never bothered to know the reason, but now he admitted to being curious about it. Suddenly, he spotted Shino arriving from his back and turned to greet his teammate.

"Greetings Naruto, I came here to tell you that Kurenai was dragged to a jounin meeting and won't attend today's meeting. She did, however, instruct us to pick up some missions for today, so how about we go and pick some D-ranked." Naruto looked at his teammate for a while, wondering why no one back home informed him about a jounin meeting, but nodded to his teammate. Of course, no one would talk to him directly, but he could hear conversations without actually being in the same room.

"I take it that Hinata won't be joining us?"

"Indeed. She got drafted by her clan for joint training exercises."

Naruto once more nodded as the two males of team 8 went to the administration building and collect a couple of D-ranked missions to pass the day. Normally, the jounin responsible was supposed to be there as well, but they lately found out, once arriving at the place, that their jounin sensei already selected a couple for Naruto and Shino to perform. It was actually three of them, with the first being a message delivery to a farm house located in the west portion of the village and the other two involved replacement duties, because of the jounin meeting, since a couple of chunnins were called to the meeting as well. After reading the mission's contents, Shino took the first one and Naruto the other two.

"How will you attend two places at the same time, Naruto, if I may ask?" The sight of bones erupting from the ground didn't scare Shino as it normally would.

"The skeleton bunshin will take care of the other post." The clone performed a henge and changed his image to the exact replica of Naruto. "I will be at the pigeon's office while the clone will handle the academy's paperwork until the meeting is over. How about your mission? I take it that you'll go home afterward since the location is near your clan compound?" The blond was looking for some training with the Aburame afterward.

"I believe so. Tou-san wanted to test my hive this afternoon and see if he could add another to increase my skills." Naruto nodded and bid his teammate goodbye, then. Training with Shino was different than training with Sasuke. With the Aburame, Naruto preferred testing teamwork exercises against his bunshins, who were posed as enemies. Normally, he would need Hinata as well, but like Shino said, she was unavailable. That being said, after the missions, Naruto would have to train on his own, so he figured it was high time he took a seat and study the scroll given by Kakashi. Perhaps, if he managed to increase his lightning manipulation, he could learn the jutsu that Kakashi gave to him and Sasuke.

Throughout the morning, Naruto and his clone were busy each with their respective assignments. Strangely enough, there were no communications between villages or outposts, so the blond was just sitting there as he watched the pigeons inside their cages, sleeping. The clone, though, was rather busy. His job wasn't to analyze the documents, but rather just to pile them as instructed. The chunnin responsible – namely Iruka – would attend to them afterward. When lunch hour came, the chunnins whose job were covered by the Narutos, returned. With nothing more to do, the blond went to his home, more precisely to the compound's garden. Once there, he opened Kakashi's scroll and passed his finger through the Braille written contents. It was thoughtful of Kakashi to write the scroll in Braille or else it wouldn't be any good to him.

* * *

**===At the jounin meeting===**

Once the chunnins, with the exception of Iruka, were released from the meeting, the Hokage turned to the jounins who were responsible for a team of genins.

"As some of you know, the next Chunnin Exams will be hosted by Konoha and it will begin in a week." The Hokage waited for a bit of time so that the jounins conversed with one another about the upcoming test, before continuing. "That being said, I would like to ask if any of you wish to nominate your genins to take the Chunnin Exams. I'll start asking the rookie teams to see if they wish to nominate their genins." Hokage was looking at Hatake Kakashi, Yuhhi Kurenai and at his son Asuma, senseis of Team 7, 8 and 10 respectively. The lack of a quick dismissal by the three jounins was met with surprise by the other jounins, because it was unusual to nominate rookie genins for the chunnin exams.

Normally, the jounins waited an entire year before thinking of nominating. A jounin named Maito Gai did exactly this, as his team had an entire year worth of experience before being now nominated.

Suddenly, Asuma took the initiative and with a step forward, announced.

"I, Sarutobi Asuma, jounin sensei of Team 10, nominate Akimichi Chouji, Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru to take the Chunnin Exams." Kurenai was second, while others started to comment.

"I, Yuhii Kurenai, jounin sensei of Team 8, nominate Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino and Sarutobi Naruto to take the Chunnin Exams." Kakashi was last.

"I, Hatake Kakashi, jounin sensei of Team 7, nominate Uchiha Sasuke, Inuzuka Kiba and Sakura Haruno to take the Chunnin Exams." The Hokage nodded and was about to ask other jounin senseis, when the only chunnin of the room objected. According to the chunnin teacher, all nine of the rookies were his students and thus they were too inexperienced to take on the exams. His view was even shared by a few jounins who were attending the meeting. Kakashi, though, while still reading his favorite book, looked at the chunnin from the corner of his eye, showing an apparent boredom to everything that was not related to the Icha Icha series.

"Iruka, age alone means nothing in this manner. When I was their age, I was already a chunnin, bearing on jounin." Iruka protested once more.

"They are not like you Kakashi and we're not in war time right now. These exams are dangerous and contain a great death rate."

Asuma was the one who argued next.

"They were indeed your students Iruka. But you have no way of knowing their abilities after the academy. Only we, the jounin senseis, are aware of that." Iruka, by this time, realized it was useless to argue with them, so he turned to the Hokage to share his wisdom. Much to his dismay, though, the old man wasn't quite in his favor. Nevertheless, he reasoned that something must be done to attest the qualities of the chunnin hopefuls.

"I concur with the jounin senseis that, given the right set of skills, the genins would be eligible for the exams. However, I'm more inclined to believe a small test is advisable. Iruka, if you wish, you may start their tests and then report to me about your findings." The chunnin nodded in agreement and realized that this would serve as a way to see how far his genins improved and finally attest their capacity for chunnin duties." The jounin senseis just smirked, wondering about what each of their genins would do to Iruka. Kurenai just hoped that Naruto wouldn't go overboard against the poor guy. Oh well, granted that Naruto wouldn't kill the man, Kurenai figured that any damage sustained would be Iruka's own fault for contesting the jounin's word.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

It was quite some time since Naruto arrived home and he had already finished reading the theory behind Kakashi's exercise. Getting up from his chair, Naruto began to concentrate his chakra, first activating his senses. The sudden sound of shurikens approaching from behind surprised him, since he wasn't expecting an attack inside his own house. Quickly grabbing his sword, Naruto easily deflected all of the projectiles, before focusing his eyes to spot the intruder. When the position was found, Naruto grabbed two of the shurikens and threw them at the enemy, before using his grandfather's technique, multiplying the projectiles. The enemy left the position and appeared in front of Naruto, holding Naruto's brother Konohamaru. The enemy was wearing a headband from Kusagakure and had his face covered with a black mask. He was emitting all sorts of threats to Naruto about killing Konohamaru with a kunai in front of the boy's neck.

"Niichan, please help me. He's chocking me." Konohamaru was crying, asking for help. However, Naruto did nothing to move and assist his little brother. He could be blind, but that worked better for him.

Quickly vanishing from his position, Naruto appeared next to the surprised enemy and charged. Throwing another shuriken aimed at the man's face, Naruto took advantage of the fact that the enemy needed to block it and used his legs to land a powerful kick at his face. The man placed Konohamaru in front of him as a shield, but Naruto continued with the assault, knowing what would happen. His feet passed through the infant and then hit the surprised enemy. The Kusa ninja landed on the ground hard, before he saw Naruto doing hand seals. The Kusa ninja wasn't going to allow that and charged the blond in straight taijutsu, stopping Naruto from finishing his sequence. Naruto smiled at the enemy and decided to play along using close combat for a while. After five minutes of battle, no one seemed to win the battle. Naruto managed to back away and perform hand seals, before manipulating the enemy's chakra. The Kusa-nin suddenly saw the vision of his worst nightmare. He was surprised at the genjutsu, but dispelled it quickly. When he came back to the real world, he was surprised that Naruto's sword was inches from his throat.

"I believe I won Iruka-sensei. Not that I know what exactly is going on here, but I won nonetheless." The enemy's identity suddenly changed, revealing the chunnin.

"I guess you did, this served only to test you Naruto. You already knew it was me right from the start, didn't you?" Iruka said with his arms crossed, before Naruto nodded.

"Relying on chakra to see has its benefits. And what did you need to test me for? And why were you the one to test me for that manner?"

"Ask your jounin sensei about it tomorrow, I have to go see the Hokage." The chunnin quickly left, as he wasn't supposed to reveal anything to the kid. Naruto wondered about the reason behind this for a while, but figured he would never know the reason before talking to Kurenai about it. He shrugged it off and went back to his training. It was too bad that Iruka stopped him from using his jutsu. However, it was a good thing in the end as Naruto didn't want to hear a lecture on using meiton techniques against a fellow Konoha ninja.

* * *

**===Next day===**

One day after Iruka's test, Naruto and his team were gathered at their meeting place with their sensei Kurenai. Sarutobi Naruto was surprised to know that Iruka also tested both Hinata and Shino, but no one managed to get the reason out of the academy teacher. With them, the test was over faster than Naruto's, because of their special abilities. However, that occurred because Naruto decided to play along instead of openly revealing that the Kusa-nin was actually Iruka in disguise right from the start. Kurenai admitted being worried about how Naruto would deal with the situation and she was relieved to hear that Naruto didn't use his meiton techniques against Iruka.

"I was about to, but he stopped me in the middle of the hand seals sequence." To that, Kurenai sighed in annoyance. Naruto knew that it was Iruka and still was about to use it.

"The important thing is that you didn't use it. Now, as I know you three are curious, I will explain the purpose behind Iruka's tests." All three genins nodded their heads, before Kurenai continued. "Every six months, the Chunnin Exam is hosted by one of the many hidden ninja villages. The test occurred in order to test you three as well as the other two rookie teams to see whether or not all of you are ready for the exams. Seeing as you all passed the little test, the Hokage approved your participation in the exams that happens to be right here in Konoha in about a week, congratulations team." After Kurenai finished the explanation, a dead silence ruled the conversation as the genins were took by surprise.

"Do you really think we're ready Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked, earning a nod from the beautiful woman.

"All three of you possess valuable skills that will certainly aid you. That means that you're ready to face the trials. But between participating in the exams and actually receiving the promotion are two separate events. In order to receive the promotion, a genin needs to show his skill in the ninja arts, those involving speed, strength, knowledge of chakra and chakra control. But above all these qualities, the genin must show complete awareness of his surroundings, control over the battle field and strategy against the enemy. Chunnins are captains and as one, you'd be required to lead missions as well as be sent to the front lines in case of an open war. All three of you trained extensively in just about every one of these qualities I just mentioned. Plus, each one of you received a great deal of knowledge from your respective clans, so I am inclined to believe that your chances in advancing to chunnin are pretty high, even if you all lack experience."

Experience was the key word behind some ninjas' reservations about nominating rookies to participate in the chunnin exams.

"Now, the chunnin exams require an entire team to participate. So it's imperative that all three of you sign this form and present it to the Administration Building in one week. So, if all three of you decide to participate, then I'll be responsible for giving you the first part of the exam. You all have one week to think about it." Kurenai got up and dismissed her genins as they needed to think about it and deliver the form. Naruto had already decided and signed his, so did Shino. Hinata took a while and pondered for a bit. She could see that her teammates had already decided, so it wouldn't bode well for her to let them down. Quickly signing it, she went ahead and delivered the form, before returning to her compound. She guessed it was high time she asked her father for more training on the jyuuken.

While on the way, Hinata knew about another genin who would participate in the exam and she was dreading the possible outcome of facing him in battle. She hoped it wouldn't come to that, though.

The thought depressed her greatly as she wished for the union of the two factions of the Hyuuga Clan, in order to create one single family. She knew, though, that she was alone in her dream, since no one in the main branch happened to share her view of things.

* * *

**===Chunnin Exams First Exam===**

When the date of the chunnin exam was up, the members of team 8 were gathered at their meeting place, waiting for their sensei. According to the woman, should they decide to participate, the three were scheduled to meet her at the same place they usually trained, which happened to be one of the many training grounds located in Konohagakure. Naruto and Shino arrived first with Hinata in tow as they took some time guessing what the exams would be like. Eventually, all three of them turned to the sudden presence, before their jounin sensei appeared via shunshin. She looked at all three of her genins for a while, before smiling for some reason.

"I'm glad all three of you came, otherwise Team 8 wouldn't be able to participate."

The genins looked at one another for a while, before nodding to their teacher. Taking one step forward, Naruto asked Kurenai.

"Kurenai-sensei, just what are we supposed to do now?"

"An excellent question, Naruto; the chunnin exams are composed of three parts and each one has its own challenges to surpass. There are a total of seventy nine teams participating in this exam, meaning a total of two hundred and thirty seven chunnin candidates to go through the three parts. The entire chunnin exams were created in order to simulate a chunnin's mission and the possible implications that a ninja might face throughout their career." The woman stopped talking so that the genins had time to digest the information, before continuing. "Now, as the jounin-sensei of Team 8, I have to inform you of the first part."

After Kurenai finished speaking, she handled a scroll to Shino. She would give it to Naruto, but he wouldn't be able to read it.

"Inside this scroll is a map of the village with special emphasis of all eighty training grounds situated within the village territory. The first part of the exam's objective is to find the location of the second exam, which happens to be one of the training grounds. In each of the seventy nine training grounds located on the map are scrolls with the team number containing clues regarding the location of the second exam. Some of the scrolls contain hidden traps, others will be blank. Only five of the scrolls contain actual information of the second exam's location. You have the entire day for this part." Kurenai was practically laughing from the inside as she looked at their horrified faces. She made a mental note to complement Nara Shukaku for coming up with this new exam.

She waited a few minutes for them to understand their objective and left, after asking if they had any questions. Shino looked at the map for a while and sighed in dismay. Hinata was also looking at it, wondering which plan would be most suited for them. Fifteen minutes had passed since then and no one uttered a single word towards a suitable plan. The Sarutobi member, though, was busy working his mind over his team's abilities and how they could use it to find the most important scrolls.

"I believe I have a plan for us that may work." Naruto announced, earning his team's attention. "There are seventy nine scrolls located throughout the training grounds. Shino, can you send one bug to each of them?" Shino nodded, but asked what Naruto was planning. "The only way someone could place traps inside a scroll is using chakra. That being said, your bugs could pinpoint all of the scrolls that are laced with chakra. After that, we can focus on the blank ones using Hinata's Byakugan. She can, if I'm not mistaken, find the ones with the written information." A sudden smile appeared on Hinata showing she didn't have a problem with Naruto's plan. Shino was busy trying to find something to dispute Naruto's logic, but he couldn't.

"Your logic is acceptable, Naruto. I'll proceed." Shino said, before taking a seat on the ground and focus on his insects while looking at the map with the training grounds. "I only ask patience from you two, considering that I'll have to establish communication with all my bugs for this." Naruto and Hinata nodded as Shino focused one single hand seal, before the swarm of bugs left from his sleeves. Each of them left towards different locations.

Hidden within a two layered genjutsu, Kurenai smiled at her team. It was a good strategy by Naruto, considering the clan's specialties.

It actually took an entire hour for Shino to successfully pinpoint the training grounds with the trap scrolls. The amount of chakra required for such a task was too much for him and he had to accept Naruto's help in carrying him while Hinata was busy using her byakugan. According to Shino, there were a total of forty booby trap scrolls, which meant that she needed to see the other thirty nine. They established five suitable locations for her to reduce the number of her eyes' activation, thus wasting less chakra in the process. Naruto's plan met its obstacle when the Hyuuga girl attested that instead of five written ones, she had found fifteen. Knowing their sensei like he did, Shino was the one who came with the answer.

"Kurenai-sensei must have done this for us. I believe that ten of them are laced with genjutsu. We must collect them and check on them all first."

Once more the female jounin smiled at her team. They managed to complement their skills rather well together and became a nice tracking and information gathering specialist team with a member that specialized in heavy fighting as well. Once all the fifteen scrolls were collected, Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and almost fell on the ground from exhaustion. Both Shino and Naruto caught her and placed her gently on the ground to rest. Shino even joined her since he was still due to recover some chakra. His pact with the insects consisted of him giving them eighty five per cent of his chakra to them in exchange for their unconditional aid in battle. Naruto, being the most rested so far, performed the last part, using his technique to spot chakra residue coming from the scrolls. He took less than ten minutes to dispel the illusion on eight scrolls, leaving two that proved to be very difficult.

"Double layered genjutsu, huh? Kurenai-sensei is rather serious about this." Naruto said as he dispelled the illusion only for the written kanji to appear once more.

Dispelling double layered genjutsu is considered a chunnin ability, Naruto remembered, even if they were taught how to by their sensei. Going one more time through the procedure of dispelling the first layer, Naruto quickly went through a sequence of four handed seals, before focusing a great amount of chakra to dispel the second layer. His timing had to be perfect or else the second layer would affect his chakra and thus he'd have to start all over again. It was a deadly technique, because of the time needed to dispel. The caster had enough time to kill the enemy with it, before said enemy managed to dispel the first layer. Therefore, Kurenai took an entire week of training in order to fully teach her genins on how to faster dispel double layered genjutsu. Naruto remembered asking her if triple layered genjutsu were doable, but the woman merely smiled, before explaining at the time. '_While extremely rare, there are illusion specialists out there who can create triple layered genjutsu. Uchiha Itachi happens to be one of them and even I can, but not with the same ease as him.'_

After he dispelled the last two, five scrolls remained. By this time, Shino and Hinata got up from the ground as they started reading each one that happens to contain a single phrase.

* * *

_By managing to locate the five scrolls, _

_your team has passed the first part of the exam._

_The location of the second exam happens to be at _

_Konoha's most dangerous training ground called_

_Training Ground 44, the Forest of Death. (Map)_

* * *

The name alone indicated nothing to Hinata and Naruto, but Shino knew of the region from his family. Considering the clan's specialty, the Aburames comes into close and constant contact with insects of all species. However, while inside the clan compound the insects are rather little, at the Forest of Death, there were human sized versions, or perhaps bigger, of these insects as well as other giant animals such as tigers, snakes and even man eating plants. The team studied the map for a while and headed towards the area known as Training Ground number 44.

* * *

**===Training Ground 44===**

Once the team arrived, they were surprised to see thirty genins already there waiting for them. Naruto was surprised to see Anko there and asked Shino or Hinata to give her his name instead. Unfortunately, his technique wasn't as evolved as his first sensei. Thus, he still couldn't see Anko's fishnet clothing, which happened to be the only cloth that covered her body. Tonbo-sensei warned him not to look straight at her for now, but for some reason he couldn't yet indentify, he couldn't look elsewhere. He would only later realize that it was just a case of excessive hormones, since he is a teenager, even if one who had already experienced killing.

After registering their names, Shino and Hinata approached team 10 and asked them about the exam. Later they regretted it as Ino proudly stated that her team finished the exam in less than ten minutes.

"Yeah, Shikamaru looked at the map for like an hour, until he looked up with his usually lazy ass expression and announced that The Forest of Death wasn't on the map and thus was the location." Ino was even doing a mocking imitation of her teammate while said member was lying on the ground looking at the clouds. He considered scowling at Ino for imitating him, but it would be way too troublesome. He only knew of the Forest of Death's existence because he remembered his dad saying once that one of the clan's deers entered the area once, so the clan had to rescue it. It's not like it was common knowledge as neither Ino nor Chouji knew about it.

By the end of the day, those who managed to pass the first text were lined up in front of the special jounin Anko Mitarashi. Looking at the genins in front of her, Anko was busy contemplating the results of Shikaku's creation. Two hundred and thirty seven genins started at the exam, forming seventy nine teams of three genins each, but right at the end of the exam, only fifteen teams remained. Quite a few of the genins were victimized from the traps hidden inside many of the scrolls. None of them were killed, because it wouldn't bode well for genins from other villages to meet their ends because of another village's device. Killing was only allowed between the competitors.

She actually preferred this new exam, because the old one was so boring, in her book.

In her opinion, it was just an excuse for Ibiki to play with the genins' minds a bit by giving them a field text with complicated answers, forcing them to cheat in order to pass the first part. In her right mind, said exam showed nothing about a genin's ability and whether or not they can become chunnins. This new exam forced the genins to think ahead and act according to their instinct and battle strategy. In a way, having a blind shinobi applying for the exam ended up being beneficial.

"Okay to everyone who managed to find this place, my congratulations. The first exam was meant to prove your skills in information gathering and ability to anticipate hidden traps. Every chunnin must be aware of said possibility in the field and act accordingly. However, that's just the first and easiest part of the exam as tomorrow, the second part will commence. As you all know, the second part will take place inside the training ground behind me, training ground number 44 better known as the Forest of Death. Once inside, I can guarantee you'll have the experience of a life time. Vicious creatures the size of buildings are in there and none of them will have any qualms about filling their stomach with human flesh. If that wasn't enough, now in this part of the exam, each team will compete against the other." Waiting for the information to sink in, Anko then flashed two scrolls, white and black in color. "The mission here is pretty simple in theory. Each team will enter the area with one of the scrolls I'm holding right now. In order to pass the exam, one team has to possess both scrolls to pass, meaning that you'll need to steal it from the other team, by any means necessary." The woman even added the last part with a prolonged emphasis.

"Once the team is in possession of both scrolls, the team will need to reach a building that is located in the middle of the forest. There is a time limit of five days to complete the exam. Now are there any questions?"

"I have one." Akimichi Chouji raised his hand as he could already feel his stomach complaining. "How are we supposed to survive in there for five days? What is there for us to eat?" The sudden smile that appeared on Anko's face scared the genin.

"There are lots of fruits in there for you to eat, just stay away from the man eating plants, though. It can be very persuasive once it finds a nice meal." The woman was almost having an orgasm upon seeing Chouji's frightened expression. Anko, then, turned to everyone as she had forgotten to annunciate a couple of things. "Also, none of you are permitted to open the scrolls, so if one of you decides to discard the rules, there will be consequences. Last, I want each to go inside that tent over there and sign this form I'm showing you. It's just a waiver contract which basically states that in the case of death in the exams, Konoha cannot and will not be held responsible in any event." Everyone took their time to sign the contract. Much to Anko's delight, some were a little reluctant in signing it. In her right mind, those would meet their deaths before the others.

After that, Anko dismissed everyone for the day with the obligation of returning to this exact same place tomorrow.

* * *

**Author Note**

Ok that's it for now…the beginning of the chunnin exams.

As I've said before, I had to change the first part because of Naruto's blindness. Giving him a test would be futile as he wouldn't be able to read it, thus he wouldn't have the same opportunity as everyone else. That being said, I created a more practical field exam consistent of information gathering and hidden traps. Now, we begin the second phase of the chunnin exams, the forest of death. Now, the exam might be similar to the actual series, but the scenes won't be.

Please tell me what you think about it.

See ya.


	13. Second phase of the Chunnin Exams

**Author Note**

Hi there and welcome to another chapter of Meshii.

To those who were sad about reading the final chapter of Full Moon, don't be. There are a lot of new materials fresh in my mind regarding my other in progress stories. Regarding this one, we have reached the time of the second phase of the chunnin exams hosted in Konoha. A small difference in exams managed to diminish the number of participants to only fifteen teams total, making the exams smaller because of it. That means that finding other teams will be much harder because of the wide area and not many enemies to fight. Now, before I proceed, I'd like to hear the readers about a sudden idea of mine. I know that I said before that in this story, Naruto wouldn't be paired with anyone, because of his dark personality.

Well, with the end of my oldest stories, in which Naruto got paired with older women, I figured that I would choose an older pairing for this story as well.

I've already managed to think of how to go about this, but I am doubtful about this Naruto and the prospect of him suddenly getting involved with someone romantically. It just didn't make much sense. Therefore, I managed to come up with two different pairings for him that could fit into his personality and not change what he is. I ask that, should you choose either one, please give me the reasons for such. Just so you know, if by chance, you consider that Naruto, as portrayed in this story, can't be paired up, please say so. Here are the choices:

**1) Yuuhi Kurenai**: Yes, I know that she is his sensei. It's because of this that if she is chosen, then it will take a bit longer for it to happen. Naruto would be a chunnin and perform missions with others aside from his team. Naruto would be attracted to her and become insanely protective of her like he is with his family. Therefore, by creating an image in his mind of Kurenai suffering, it will provoke one of the most powerful emotions of all, even more powerful than hatred, which in turn will increase the power of his techniques. I can also include jealousy, which can induce anger behavior and also increases his techniques. One problem, though, would be to maintain this relationship for long.

**2) Mitarashi Anko:** Her personality is more close to Naruto and thus they could bond well together. Naruto could assist her and Ibiki in interrogating and torturing enemies, thus creating a much deeper bond between dark personality individuals. Also, without knowing, I've already introduced Anko as close to Naruto's first sensei Tonbo, not romantically, but as friends. Quite frankly, I could see her more with him than Kurenai. Plus, Kurenai had a bad history with the blond when the genin team was formed, so I'd have to either put that aside or make them deal with what happened and move on. So far, Kurenai doesn't trust Naruto and Naruto is wary of anyone outside of his family and genin teammates.

**3) **There is also the option of choosing neither one of them if you feel that the way Naruto is now, he couldn't simply change that much and be romantically involved. I know that some will choose both, but that's not one of the options. I don't enjoy writing Naruto with more than one pairing, because that's not what happens in real life. Yes, I know its fan fiction and all of that, but I just don't like writing about two girls sharing one man. It's wrong just by thinking about it, actually.

Please help me decide which. No matter what the choice will be, Naruto's personality won't change.

Now, let's proceed with the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 13 –Second phase of the Chunnin Exams**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

When the next day came, all the remaining genin teams were eagerly waiting for the second part to start.

Each team was stationed behind one of the training ground's many gates located around the terrain. The gates were chosen randomly, so that no one could target a specific team right at the beginning. That didn't dissuade the older genin teams from looking at the three rookie teams from Konoha with audacious expressions on their faces. So much so that all of them considered the Konoha's younger teams as easy prey for the big prize. What none of the older genins realized, though, was that some of the fresh genins were actually _hoping _to be challenged by the older teams, in Naruto and Sasuke's case, amongst others. Actually, the most important reason for even joining wasn't much for the promotion itself. Well, it was because of the tougher assignments, but Naruto accepted mainly to prove how strong he was compared to others.

Inside Konoha, his skills were limited considering that most of his techniques were meant to kill or at least cripple the enemy.

Unfortunately, he couldn't use those against Konoha-nins, even though there were some that certainly deserved it, as far he was concerned. The only challenge to Naruto so far was Sasuke and even against him, he was limited, since he couldn't use his ninjutsu techniques. He briefly used his skills to study his opponents and determine which one to look out for. As such, the blond was slightly peeved about one specific enemy, a woman by the looks of things, who was wearing a Kusagakure insignia. For some reason, though, he could feel great discomfort around her. It was actually the first time he ever felt like this around a human being, since his encounter with the fox couldn't be counted as such. Even if this person was nothing compared to the fox, in terms of ill intent, it certainly was ten times larger than his, hence why he concluded it was wise to stay away from her for the time being.

"Shino, Hinata, I believe it's in our best interest to avoid the team from Grass. Something about them seems off to me."

Both nodded, though, not because they trusted Naruto, but also because they too felt uneasy. Shino's bugs alerted him right away that something was indeed strange about that woman. The chunnin from their gate looked at them, wondering about what the blond Sarutobi was saying. As a chunnin examiner, Izumo needed to memorize the files of every applicant, thus he knew which team he was talking about. The info on the grass team wasn't that impressive, so he wondered if the brat was simply scared or overly cautious. In the end, though, it wasn't like he could do anything about it right now, so he just shrugged it off and waited for the signal to open the gates.

It was decided that Naruto would keep the earth scroll, since his idea was considered the most logical in Shino's book.

It consisted of hiding the scroll inside a blank scroll that Naruto borrowed from his clan. This way, if someone were to defeat team 8, the scroll, the real scroll, wouldn't be visible. Naruto even added a small trap inside his blank scroll, after seeing what could be done with fuuinjutsu from the first exam. If anyone were to open this scroll, he or she would receive a great swarm of kunai and shuriken. The blond had thanked his father for aiding him with this little plan.

As soon as the gates were opened, the genins rushed inside for a few minutes, before taking a minute inside a small cave in order to consider their strategy for the exam. After much deliberation, it was decided that Shino would use his bugs as hidden scouts positioned around them to inform Shino of any hidden traps of enemies. Hinata would often use her Byakugan to look out for possible targets. Naruto, for his part, would conduct the assault once Hinata could pinpoint the enemies' location. Hinata even activated her eyes as a confirmation, when she suddenly saw a team just outside the cave, waiting to ambush them. Her uneasiness was caught quickly by Shino and Naruto and both nodded. According to Hinata, they were from Mist and one of them had what appeared to be a ninjato.

Naruto went through a couple hand seals, before placing both hands on the ground. In front of them, bones started to mend together and formed three skeleton bunshins. The bunshins were quickly henged as their team. After sending them out to pinpoint their location, No sooner had the bunshins left the cave, the genins from Mist attacked them using team taijutsu. The bunshins grabbed their arms, surprising the genins from the Mist. From within the cave, a great number of vines had charged at the genins, binding them in place for Shino's bugs to drain them of their chakra. It actually took a bit longer than expected, but the bugs eventually managed to drain them completely. Hinata was the one who found the scroll inside one of the genin's pockets, before sighing in dismay at finding another earth scroll. She was about to destroy it when Naruto urged her to stop.

"Give the scroll to me, Hinata. We could use another scroll if we need to bargain it for a heaven scroll." The girl hesitated a bit, but gave the scroll to Naruto. "Now, Hinata, can you tell us where the next team is located? Oh and look out for the Grass Team. If they approach our position, we need to change direction." The female member of the team nodded and scanned the area around them in order to check the closest team. Hinata could see the other rookie teams from Konoha, but they were too far away from them. She also saw the team from Suna and flinched once she saw how the red headed individual killed the team from Rain Country. Her eyes had landed on a team from Kumo that were a few meters away from them and she couldn't see the team from grass which meant that they were too far for her byakugan.

After relaying the information, Naruto and Shino nodded and vanished towards the location of the team from Kumo.

Five minutes later, all three of them found places to hide as they studied the team on the ground, as they seemed to talk with each other. For some reason, though, it seemed off to the Konoha team as the three kumo genins weren't simply paying any attention at all to their surroundings. It was like they were living statues just waiting to be attacked. Naruto's sight managed to see one of them sneaking from behind with a kunai in hand, ready to kill the blind shinobi. Quickly grabbing his sword, Naruto parried the kunai, surprising the genin. The blond was ill equipped as another genin approached from his side and aided his partner by landing a fierce kick on the blond. Shino and Hinata immediately came to assist, but was stopped by the third member, which had the same appearance as the other two, appearing like triplets. All three of them were considerably tall and dark skinned with black eyes. Their outfit was the same, so as to confuse the enemy regarding their hidden abilities.

None of the Konoha genins gave much importance to the bunshins at the ground now.

* * *

**===With Shino and Hinata===**

Shino and Hinata stood side by side as the Aburame released his bugs at their opponent. Hinata activated her Byakugan, surprising the third brother as he didn't believe these two had bloodlines, especially not the famous Byakugan. Shino unleashed his bugs and ushered him to surround the enemy. The Kumo ninja managed to avoid them, but he was ill equipped to handle a straight taijutsu match against Hinata. The Hyuuga girl used her agility and appeared behind the guy, before landing precise jyuuken strikes on him. The Kumo genin coughed up blood, but Hinata didn't hit any vitals because she didn't want to kill him. Said benevolence ended with the enemy smiling at Konoha's soft heartened shinobi and performed some hand seals, before his entire body started glowing in lightning energy, shocking both Hinata and Shino, because his bugs haven't stopped sucking the man's chakra supply. The threat, though, didn't last long as he didn't have much chakra to use, because of those damn bugs.

He fell on the ground, unconscious from severe chakra depletion.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

The blond got into position as the two identical ninjas faced him. As far as numbers were involved, Kumo had the advantage and such it brought confidence to the siblings.

"Only Konoha would fall for such a trick, guess this village isn't so tough, huh?" The smirk of the first one showed how cocky the man was in defeating Naruto's team easily. The blond, though, was curious.

"I don't know why you believe it was wise to choose me as the toughest of my team, considering that I'm actually blind."

The comment alone surprised the brothers, but it didn't deter them from maintaining the smirk. Konoha must be even worse if they promote blind individuals into shinobi. The brothers looked at each other, before laughing out loud. "Man, you're blind. Konoha is even more pathetic than I thoug…" The brothers were suddenly surprised by the scream of the third brother. Naruto, though, only grinned as their attention wasn't on him anymore, but to help their brother. Quickly unleashing his sword, Naruto used his speed and slammed his sword on their side stomachs, ceasing any possibility of breathing for a short while. The noise of pain was quite pleasant as Naruto used his favorite technique, binding the enemy with his tendrils. The genins started snarling, demanding to be released otherwise Naruto would suffer extreme pain. However, as expected, the vines tightened their hold, drawing blood from them.

"It's useless to fight it. You two will be dead within a minute. Serves you both right for insulting my village." Naruto smirked once he heard the noise of ribs being broken.

Like Naruto said, the pain was too much for them. Checking their pockets, the blond was pissed upon finding yet another earth scroll.

Once more, Naruto sealed the earth scroll together with the others and joined Shino and Hinata, while they were busy dealing with the other member of the team that attacked them. Instead of killing them, though, Shino and Hinata limited their actions to only incapacitate the guy. The blond shrugged it off as his team perhaps counted on him to do the killing, thus not getting their hands dirty in the process. After what he did, though, to the other brothers, the blond was one hundred percent sure that this guy would want revenge in the future and that Naruto couldn't allow it to happen. Revenge driven shinobi tends to be dangerous; he knew that more than most, since all the attacks against him were based on an empty feeling of revenge against the beast that resided inside his stomach. Quickly grabbing a kunai, Naruto had kneeled down and quickly sliced the man's jugular, before his teammates could even stop him.

"Why did you kill him, Naruto? We had already incapacitated him. He was no threat."

Despite being rather calm, Naruto could detect an accusation in Shino's tone of voice. Despite not opening her mouth, Naruto knew that Shino was speaking for both he and Hinata. Her eyes were looking at him, demanding an explanation.

"He isn't a threat to us right now, Shino, but he certainly would be after these exams after learning what happened with his two brothers. If we let him go now, he'll be bitter at us and will target Konoha shinobi from now on. Believe me when I say that one in desire of revenge is dangerous, especially since he stops thinking of good and bad and start believing in simple retribution. And that in itself is a path that warrants no return; not only to him, but also to those he chooses to harm because of revenge." Both Shino and Hinata looked at their teammate for a while, pondering on what he explained. Naruto had always been some sort of mystery to both of them. Deciding not to further explain his actions, Naruto turned to Hinata.

"Hinata, can you see another team that is close from our location?" The only girl in the team looked at Shino for a while and saw that the bug user was deep in thought for some reason.

She activated her eyes and scanned the area for a while, before finding another team.

"There is one a bit far from us right now, north actually. They don't seem like much from their chakra levels." Naruto nodded at that, before vanishing followed by his teammates.

It took five minutes for them to locate the team which was actually from Konoha as well. Because of that, Naruto couldn't do the same thing he did with the other teams. Therefore, it was up to Shino and Hinata. However, it didn't mean that the blond couldn't be of assistance as he went through a great number of seals, for one nasty genjutsu for all three of the older genins. He activated the technique and invaded the other Konoha genins' chakra supply, before their screams of terror reached his ears, further fueling his illusion technique, thus making it even more powerful. It was only a shame, Naruto mused, that he couldn't see what the nightmare really was about.

_**Genmeiton Ankoku Akumu**__ (Dark Illusion Darkness Nightmare Technique)_

Shino and Hinata waited for the signal. Once they saw the genins stopped and scream from fear, both charged quickly and used quick incapacitating attacks. After that, Shino had finally found the heaven scroll hidden inside of the genins' pockets.

After telling Naruto, they went straight to the tower and end this exam.

* * *

**===Inside the tower===**

Throughout the travel towards the tower, Naruto hid his team inside a false surroundings genjutsu, so that no one could pinpoint their exact location. The entire trip took them close to an hour, when the tower became visible. Once inside, the team looked at the board in front of them and saw that the message was incomplete. Naruto couldn't read it, so Shino had to read it for him. It was Hinata who came with the idea of opening the scrolls and see what's inside. Perhaps, whatever answer needed to found would be there. After doing so, a chunnin shinobi appeared out of nowhere and smirked at the second team to reach the tower. After explaining what the board meant **(AN: I won't bother with that part in the story, seeing as everyone knows what the board says), **the genins were directed to the dorms in order to rest for the rest of the exam. The team eventually found their sensei together with other jounins talking.

Kurenai smiled in pride upon seeing her team there so fast. Naruto smiled in Asuma and Kakashi's direction, while ignoring other jounins, who were looking at him like most of the village did.

"Congratulations, all three of you. I trust that everything went accordingly?" Her genins nodded once, earning another smile from her. "Okay then, you guys can rest if you want to. We need to wait for the end of the exams."

The genins nodded once more, before leaving the jounins' presence. Shino took the opportunity to solve some doubts of his regarding what Naruto said early today and ushered Hinata to go ahead and take some rest. Naruto could see that Shino was troubled by what happened earlier. He knew that killing sometimes was justified and even logical, considering the circumstances. His heart beat and body posture didn't indicate any sign of distress, so the blond presumed that his teammate was merely curious.

"Naruto, I've been thinking about what you said earlier after killing that Kumo genin." All Naruto did to that was nod, inkling Shino to continue. "Indeed, your logic in killing the last brother was sound and I failed to see that logic, because of the fact that I have yet to make my first kill. You said that if we let him live, he would target Konoha shinobi because of revenge and it's completely true. When you did your first kill, how did you feel?" Naruto faced his partner for a while, before he pondered on his question. For someone who actually enjoyed causing pains on others, Naruto's first kill was actually not so long ago, on the mission to deal with some low level missing-nins with that other jounin. He also knew from his family how it would be once he did his first kill, but that feeling never came for him. Naruto never knew if it was because of his nature or because of his dark chakra. He didn't feel bad about it. He never felt as bad as people always made it sound.

"Perhaps, I'm the wrong person for you to ask this." For some reason, though, Shino understood this as he remembered the explanation from Naruto's Meiton ability.

Somehow, his blond partner got stronger by using or feeling dark emotions, so whatever answer or clarification Shino was hoping for, wouldn't come for someone like Naruto.

"I understand…perhaps it's better to ask Kurenai-sensei about it, then. I'll go rest." Naruto nodded, but decided to explore the place as Shino went to take a nap. As he walked around the presumably empty hallway, the blond figured that he would find something to do while waiting for the five days to end. The blond had little hobbies to attend to, other than shinobi related. The only activities that he could think of were to practice lightning manipulation or the techniques that he had learned from Kakashi-sensei. He could also practice some genjutsu techniques that he thought of using his Meiton techniques or even ninjutsu using his Meiton abilities. He could also practice some of the katas from his sword. After much time debating what to do for the day, Naruto figured that he could take the time and create a new ninjutsu with his darkness element. As of lately, he has been giving such little thought into his darkness element, focusing only in lightning techniques and kenjutsu.

He even had a few ideas about a technique he could imitate, once he saw some members from the Sarutobi Clan sparring once.

One of them used an earth technique that used mud in order to summon a deep swamp in order to trap his opponent. Naruto figured that he could replicate using the dark element for this one. Kyuubi once told him that the reason dark power is so strong it's because it's easily malleable. The user could pretty much bend such power and create whatever he willed. It was how he designed his own dragon projectile technique, by picturing in his mind what the dragon would be like. With this thought in mind, the blond began to process the theory of his new technique in his mind and perhaps try it at the next phase of the chunnin exams. Everyone told him that it wasn't very nice to use his deadly techniques against allies from Konoha, even if those he attacked deserved in the end. No one told him not to use his dark elemental techniques against genins from other villages at least not so far. That being said, he intended to let loose with his next opponent, hoping to fight opponents from other villages.

* * *

**===Five days later===**

When the five days passed, those who managed to pass the second phase of the exam were lined up in front of the Hokage for debriefing. From Naruto's stand point, he could visualize those who managed to pass the forest of death test. He could see a team from Sunagakure, composed of a girl with four pig tails and a giant fan strapped on her back, a boy with face paint wearing all blank carrying something within some adhesive tape. Something about whatever was inside was off for Naruto because of the technique he uses to see. Because it relied on chakra, he couldn't be fooled by what was hidden behind objects. The five lines of chakra that was linked between the genin and whatever was inside the tape, quite intrigued the blond. Chakra strings was not an alien concept to the young Sarutobi, as he remembered seeing some ninjas using it to link their weapons so as not to waste them on the first throw. His grandfather also had told him stories about the remarkable skills of puppetry, upon facing a lot of them in the past wars. The other member of the team from Suna was equally, if not even more, intriguing. The boy was the shortest of the team but his chakra capacity far out shined those of his teammates. If he was to compare, this boy's chakra capacity even rivaled his own in capacity.

_Ichibi no Shukaku…another jinchuuriki._

Naruto flinched at the haunting words of his bijuu, since he wasn't that accustomed to talking to the beast these days. But the words hit home and Naruto decided that being wary of this one would be best. Moving on, he could see a team made from the new village called Otogakure. None of these clowns interested Naruto though. In fact, only one of them appeared to be skilled. Usually those with arrogant smirks on their faces were the first ones to underestimate the enemy. The black haired girl and the boy with the helmet were looking at everyone as if they would pass through this with no problem what so ever. The rest of those who passed belonged to Konoha. Sasuke's team passed as Naruto predicted it would. He wasn't aware of what or rather who they just faced. Apparently, Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, showed up and tried engaging Sasuke in combat. The Uchiha managed to hold him off until Mitarashi Anko arrived with some of Konoha's Anbu forces, forcing Orochimaru to flee before doing anything. Nevertheless, the man's presence alone greatly worried the old man Hokage and he knew that his ex-student would show up again and it would be quite soon.

Shikamaru's team passed as well, though Naruto didn't think much about it the other team composed of older genins had a Hyuuga like Hinata. The other two didn't appear much, aside from the guy with the weird hair and gigantic eyebrows. His chakra supply was so insignificant; Naruto wondered how he even survived thus far. Naruto noticed how this genin wore tape on his arms and it could mean that the kid would be hiding something beneath the tape. Perhaps he compensated the lack of chakra with physical abilities such as hidden knives or even taijutsu. Naruto knew better than assume things to be true, based on appearances alone. Anyone who knew his blindness would assume him to be weak because of that. Those who believed that were now dead or at the hospital. In order to pass the forest of death, the boy had to be skilled. Everyone in this tournament has earned their right, at least, so Naruto would use his full skill against them. The boy smiled as he thought of his new technique. He managed to summon the dark swamp three days ago and has been adapting the technique to his needs ever since. He managed to control the distance between himself and the swamp, so even if the enemy is far from him, he could still trap him or her with it.

Even if he had to release the chakra to attack the trapped enemy, he still had close to ten seconds before the swamp dissolved, giving him ample time to finish the fight with a well thrown shuriken or kunai or even another darkness offensive technique.

Naruto stopped thinking when he heard the woman, he still couldn't look directly, call everyone's attention to what the Hokage was about to say. According to the old man, the Chunnin Exams were created after the end of the Third Shinobi War in order to simulate war between nations. The exams were meant to show to clients, merchants, high lords and dignitaries, the hidden village's strengths. It was the cold truth of it all, but in order to grow both as shinobi and as human being, the genins needed to understand how the system worked. A few of the genins protested at this, but in Naruto's head, it was futile. This system was created even before most of the shinobi here were even born. Naruto smirked though as he could perceive four sets of eyes aimed at him. Sasuke's was obviously there because of their rivalry. The older Hyuuga was looking at him as well. His doujutsu might have seen something interesting in Naruto. Surprisingly so, the jinchuuriki was looking at him as well, albeit more discreetly than the other two. The other was the Hokage, though his was for another reason than wanting to fight Naruto. Old man Sarutobi couldn't help but smile upon seeing his grandson trying to become a chunnin, when it wasn't so long ago, that everyone had doubt if Naruto would manage to adapt at the shinobi life because of his handicap.

Sarutobi's eyes were entirely filled with pride at Naruto's accomplishments. He also knew that now the boy had the potential to become one of the most powerful shinobi in existence.

The Hokage was about to explain the third phase of the exams when a man shunshined next to him, a jounin by his looks.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, but may I address them before?" The old man was expecting this and nodded. "Greetings, my name is Gekkou Hayate and I came here bearing bad news for those of you whose only wish was to rest after such a gruesome test." Shikamaru was the one who groaned, since he knew this was coming. "It's highly unusual for so many of you to pass the second phase, which means that we must reduce the numbers a bit. Dignitaries from all over the elemental nations will come to see the tournament. If everyone were to fight, it would take too long. Therefore, we'll proceed with one on one fights until a suitable number of fighters is achieved."

"This is absurd, we barely stopped fighting out there, everyone here is tired." Kiba shouted to the man, hopelessly trying to dissuade the entire exam from happening based on his complaints alone.

"Speak for yourself, Kiba. My team has been here since day one." Kiba snarled at the blond, but stopped knowing Naruto's fame. Hayate decided to answer, though, ignoring the blond Sarutobi's come back.

"The world isn't fair sometimes. However, as of right now, anyone who feels unable to fight, please say so." Looking around, Hayate saw that no one was going to back down, before nodding and asked, through his intercom, for the electronic board to appear behind him. Immediately, two images appeared on the board showing the images of the fighters. The board then started to jumble all the fighters before stopping with the images of Sarutobi Naruto from the Leaf and Sabaku no Temari from the Sand. "Everyone besides these two combatants, have to go to the second level." The crowd started to move towards the stairs, while Temari and Naruto remained close to Hayate. Naruto was smirking like crazy because his prays were answered. If his or her opponent were from Konoha, then he would be limited. The girl in front of him is from another village, and even it was an allied village, Naruto didn't have the same restrictions.

"I'm glad to see my opponent isn't from Konoha. That means I can go all out against you." Temari heard this and saw the smirk on the blond's face. She showed one of her own at him, before positioning to begin the fight.

The blond was calculating her every move as she calmly walked away from him. Her giant fan gave him every indication that the woman was a wind user. Wind was considered a mid-range element, but only for those that didn't need an object like a fan to create a breeze. With that said, the girl had to at least create a distance from him in order to use the fan without interruption. Smirking, Naruto had already thought of a suitable plan to win this without taking too long. After all, this fight was just in order to reduce the current applicants for the final round. Aside from Sasuke and his team, the other genins don't know of his skills in Meiton and lightning jutsus. And he intended to keep it that way. As soon as the proctor authorized the start of the fight, Naruto summoned three skeleton bunshins and sent them to all corners of the field, thus trapping Temari at the middle. The girl's heart beat so far was normal, despite seeing these creatures made of bone. Certainly, others in the area were shocked, that being the woman population, aside from Kurenai and Hinata who already knew that technique. Naruto wasted little time and charged at the woman with a kunai in hand. Temari immediately grabbed her fan and opened it slightly, before swinging at his direction.

_Seeing _the woman's movements, Naruto was already changing course and threw his kunai at a specific angle that the wind attack couldn't stop it.

He was already away of the wind blast, but Temari had to use her speed in order to evade the kunai from piercing her right knee.

Immediately, the bunshins attacked at the same time, forcing the woman to swing her fan in all directions to eliminate the bunshins. Her error, however, was that the skeleton bunshins were made from bone and thus were very resilient. Temari's first level attack did little to stop them from their path and soon all three of them trapped her in the middle with straight taijutsu, thus not allowing her to use the fan. The Suna genin snarled at the creatures while looking at the real one a few feet away from her with his arms crossed. Temari was a long rage fighter, but if someone were to push her to close range, she would manage it using the fan's metal frame. The skeleton bunshins were assaulting her heavily, not allowing her room to breathe. Plus, one of them managed to land a hit on her stomach, forcing her to lose her air and diminish her defense capabilities. The others joined and soon Temari was receiving the beating of a life time. Every one of the genins, except Naruto's team and Sasuke, flinched upon hearing the noise of ribs breaking.

"Now it's time to end your misery, Suna genin." Naruto said as he went through a considerable sequence of hand seals.

_**Meiton Kuro Sawa**_ _(Dark Release: Dark Swamp Technique)_

Everyone looked interested, even Sasuke, when a black hole appeared below Temari and the bunshins. The bunshins were immediately dissolved and returned below ground, but Temari's body was slowly sinking and whatever she did, she just couldn't get away.

"Being from the Sand village, you know the principle behind quick sand, don't you Temari-san." Naruto was right in front of her, barely away from the dark hole as he looked at the woman with that smirk he displayed from the beginning. "Well, this technique I developed is a little bit like quicksand. You see with quicksand, the more you move the more you sink. However, in not being able to get out, you start feeling desperation, anxiety. You'll start to think that perhaps you can't escape and that today it's your day to die am I right? Those feelings will only increase the speed that you sink. Even if you somehow found a way to get out, there would be a kunai slicing your neck immediately by my hand." Others around the area were looking at it wondering how Naruto could be like this. Clearly, the Sandaime was used to this, because of the man he faced a long time ago, but in seeing his grandson doing the same thing is quite disturbing.

Naruto, though, decided to be merciful.

"If you wish to save your life, then you should forfeit." Temari started trembling at the man but complied and forfeited. Immediately, the hole disappeared beneath her. Because of her troubled mind, she started backing away from the blond, from fear that he would kill her. Naruto just smirked once more, before walking towards the stairs as the proctor gave him the victory. As he walked towards his teammates, the others were looking at him with fearful expressions. Gaara was the only exception as he saw in Naruto a suitable shinobi to test his existence. Moving on, the board started spinning, before showing two new faces, Uchiha Sasuke versus Tenten.

* * *

**===Uchiha Sasuke vs. Tenten===**

Both combatants didn't take much time to join Hayate at the arena as they stood in front of each other, analyzing each other. As soon as the tokubetsu jounin authorized the fight to begin, Tenten did a small back flip so as to get into a certain distance that allowed her to both attack and defend at the same time. Quickly unleashing some kunais, she threw them at the Uchiha, just as Sasuke was about to charge at her, forcing him to dodge. The weapon specialist then grabbed a ninjato and charged at Sasuke who used a kunai to defend himself. For a great while, Sasuke and Tenten exchanged metal blows against each other, neither managing to draw blood of the other.

They each crossed metal once more, before both back flipped and stared at each other once more.

"You're very good with that sword, but I believe it's time to wrap this up." Said Sasuke as he activated his Sharingan and charged Tenten, this time, with much more speed than before. The girl began to panic from being in such close range against an Uchiha and backed off a bit, using more kunais as distraction. She knew that it was unwise to battle a doujutsu in such close proximity. Placing two scrolls by her side, Tenten focused on the tiger seal, before activating her created technique _**Soushouryuu**_ (Twin Rising Dragons Technique).The scrolls suddenly opened and went high up just as Tenten jumped and started summoning weapons and throwing them at Sasuke. The Uchiha saw the weapons and remembered the time when he faced that fake hunter-nin and her senbons. After dodging those dreading senbons, dodging these big ass weapons was piece of cake. At the end of the assault, Tenten's weapons were all littered on the arena. The girl was astounded at Sasuke's speed, before pulling her weapons with hidden wire for another assault. Sasuke wouldn't have that, however, as he performed some hand seals, before his right hand started glowing with lightning energy. Sasuke couldn't use his fire techniques, so lightning would have to do. He charged Tenten faster than she could prepare for another attack and slammed his glowing hand directly at her stomach.

_**Raiton Denkou Mahi**__ (Lightning Release: Lightning Paralysis Technique)_

The girl screamed for a short while because of the volts that invaded her system, before her body went numb on the ground. Tenten was immediately taken care of by the medics, as Sasuke went back to the stairs towards the second level. The board became alive once more, before it stopped, showing Shino and Kiba's face. The bug user received a nod from both Hinata and his sensei Kurenai, before going towards the stairs. He didn't need to hear one from Naruto as he saw the subtle nod directed his way coming from his comrade. Shino was very well aware that Naruto wasn't the kind of person that showed affection to others. The Aburame knew that Naruto wanted him to pound Kiba to the ground and he would do just that. Inuzuka Kiba was known as temperamental and for his rash decisions. Shino wouldn't need more than one technique to deal with the Inuzuka. Quite to Shino's expectancy, Kiba was already there at the arena next to his dog partner.

* * *

**===Inuzuka Kiba vs. Aburame Shino===**

When the two opponents were face to face, Hayate authorized the fight to begin.

No sooner had the fight been authorized, Kiba tried using his speed and overcome Shino, but the bug user was used to much faster speeds from sparring with Naruto. He dodged the front assault and managed to kick Akamaru which was coming at him from his back. Quickly doing hand seals, Shino managed to assault Kiba's chakra system, making him freeze and his eyes wide in shock. While doing this, Shino took the opportunity and released his bugs after Akamaru in order to deal with the dog before dealing with Kiba. Akamaru, recognizing what was happening to its master, attempted to bite him and wake him up from the nasty genjutsu implemented by his opponent. However, the dog didn't have much chakra capacity compared to humans, thus Akamaru was drained of chakra and fell on the ground, unconscious. With that settled, Shino deactivated the worst nightmare genjutsu and saw that Kiba was fixing his eyes on the unconscious dog partner.

He immediately snarled at Shino for, in his mind, killing Akamaru and charged at Shino screaming bloody murder. Kakashi, from the stands, sighed in dismay at his student for falling to Shino's genjutsu, while Kurenai was smiling with pride at the method her student was using.

Kiba, though, was blinded by anger and thus he was charging at Shino with no strategy.

Shino's bugs were busy sucking Kiba's chakra, but the dog shinobi continued his attack, without thinking of the consequences of using so much chakra. Shino's bugs weren't complaining, though, as they were enjoying a very nice snack. When Kiba was inches from Shino, his eyes started closing, thus indicating his exhaustion. Shino just finished the fight with a simple chop to the neck. Shino's strategy was widely applauded by the higher level shinobi, even the Hokage who had yet to see an Aburame not using the kikaichuu as their only weapon. No doubt, Kurenai had taught him well. The medics had taken Kiba and Akamaru to be taken care of as the board awakened once more.

* * *

**===other fights===**

_(AN: I won't bother with the other fights, just the last one between Neji and Hinata)._

Shikamaru fights Kankurou and wins trapping the puppet user with his shadow and forcing Kankurou to place a kunai inches from his neck.

Sakura fought with Ino and it was a rather pathetic display of skills, resulting in a tie.

Chouji fought with Dosu and lost rather quickly, because of Dosu's sound gauntlet.

Lee fought against Tsushi Kin from the Sound and at first fell victim to her sound genjutsu that consisted of using the sound waves to blurry Lee's vision and make him see four of her. Lee, without dispelling the genjutsu, charged against all of them with high speed and managed to land a fierce kick on her face, sending Kin to instant unconsciousness. Lee's sensei Gai screamed to everyone how his wonderful student Lee managed to counter genjutsu with plain taijutsu and tried rubbing in Kakashi's face that, only to complain after Kakashi turned to him and asked if he had said something as he was busy reading a book.

Gaara fought Zaku and used his sand to obliterate the poor sound genin, much to everyone's shock, apart from Naruto who smirked at the action.

* * *

**===Hyuuga Neji vs. Hyuuga Hinata===**

Throughout the preliminaries, Hinata was cursing the damn board. She could be parried with anyone. She even dared say that she preferred to be paired against Gaara for cry's sake, instead of her cousin Neji.

However, fate seemed to be against her today as she looked at Neji from the corner of her eye, after the board indicated their names as the last battle. She could feel his eyes looking at her with the same hatred as she remembered every day of her life. Ever since that day, Neji blamed everyone from the clan's main house because of what they did to his father. Hinata even vowed herself to unite the different branches one day just to end her cousin's suffering as well as the other branch house members who was victimized by the Hyuuga's accursed fuuinjutsu. She saw that Neji stopped looking at her and casually went towards the stairs. She was about to walk too, when a hand rested on her shoulder. Looking up, Kurenai saw her sensei smiling at her offering her comfort. Kurenai knew all about Hinata's suffering because of the way the Hyuuga Clan was divided. Certainly, Hinata's father ended up contributing to the little girl's insecurity.

The jounin, however, wasn't doing a good job as Hinata's heart beat hasn't faltered one bit, because of her sensei's act of comfort. To Naruto, Hinata's heart beat was worse than Sakura at the mission to Wave.

Often times, Naruto wondered if Hinata's kind heart would cause trouble to the team. It wasn't a problem of skill, but rather her lack of confidence in her abilities. The Hyuuga Clan was known for their superiority complex. Said complex was even increased when Uchiha Itachi killed the entire Uchiha Clan, thus eliminating the only clan from Konoha who could claim superiority at the Hyuuga from being one of Konoha's founding clans next to the Senju Clan. Certainly, Naruto was surprised when he met Hinata, daughter of the head of the clan Hyuuga Hiashi and thus member of the Hyuuga Clan's main branch, acting timid and having self-confidence issues. Despite that, Naruto knew the girl to be skilled when she was focused. His spars with her were interesting, because like his ability, her eyes could detect even the most sudden muscle moves, meaning that she could tell when and where the attack is coming.

Not to mention the almost 360 degrees vision that for those who didn't know about the blind spot, it was a pain. Because of his ability in seeing through chakra, the image of the blind spot was _visible _to him.

"If you don't relax and focus Hinata, this battle won't take long." Hinata was walking by the time Naruto warned her, making her stop in surprise. "Your heart beat is beating so fast that is almost hurting my eardrums."

Hinata nodded at Naruto and smiled at him, before controlling her breathing in an attempt to focus at the battle ahead, not suddenly believe that she would fix her family's problems. As a genin, it would be impossible. She casually went towards the stairs and approached Hayate and Neji, before bowing in respect to the jounin, which earned a nod in appreciation from the sick jounin. She, then, faced Neji and slightly flinched at the look on his face upon seeing her once more. Kurenai-sensei taught her team to recognize killing intent and act upon it, so she could feel Neji's intent upon her. It was slightly suffocating, but not as large as either Kurenai-sensei or her comrade Naruto.

"You should forfeit Hinata-sama. When in a presence of a stronger foe, the weaker one must realize that and make the right decision." Neji said, before falling into the Hyuuga standard taijutsu form.

"It's been a while since we last fought Neji-niisan, I've grown quite a lot since then." Naruto smiled at that as Hinata managed to diminish her heart beat and was focused.

Like Shino, he cared little for their well-being outside of missions, but rather he believed that his comrades should wipe the floor with the competition. After Hayate authorized the fight, both Hyuugas charged at each other promising this to be a match of straight taijutsu. Both activated their byakugans instantly and initiated the attacks. Neji recognized instantly that Hinata's attack carried more power than before. He could see the resolve in her eyes in winning this battle. That alone caused him to snarl in even more hatred which forced him to focus even more on hurting his cousin from the main branch. The exchange between jyuuken strikes became so fierce that everyone could see the trace of energy after each failed strike from both parties. The Hokage smiled at the memory of seeing the same fight between Hyuuga Hiashi and Hyuuga Hizashi when they were genins just like their second generation.

Hinata backed away a couple meters from her cousin and casted a quick genjutsu on Neji. The Hyuuga genius snorted at the attempt and stopped the genjutsu in less than two seconds. He flinched, though, when he saw a barrage of shurikens coming his way and fast. Snarling at Hinata's boldness, he caught one kunai and managed to deflect the shuriken, but one of the projectiles passed by him and caused a considerable cut on his right arm. He only now realized Hinata's intentions as he had to cut his chakra in order to dispel the genjutsu and thus couldn't use any technique to block the projectile. Hinata did improve, but he smirked at that. Her form was nowhere near as fluid as his was. He charged at her with increased speed, surprising his cousin with aimed strikes, gaining the upper hand and immobilizing her members by closing the tenketsus. Hinata knew she was defeated, but she was confident that Neji wasn't expecting her to last this long. She was expecting the proctor to call the fight in her cousin's favor, when Neji appeared in front of her with no intent to stop his assault.

The other jounins in the room saw it the second that Neji lifted his arm for the final attack and vanished, but Naruto followed as well. Neji would certainly kill her.

Neji was suddenly blocked by three jounins and a blind genin, thus unable to finish his cousin. Suddenly, though, Naruto felt like he was drained completely. The boy remembered this feeling quite clearly and looked at Hinata in shock as she was suddenly enveloped by a bright green light. Hinata must have awakened it when she was about to die like Sasuke's sharingan. In the end, the victory was given to Neji. From the audience, only Naruto and the Hokage knew what the bright light in Hinata meant. Naruto sighed in dismay upon knowing that another person had awakened _**Hiton**_ (Light Release). Whether or not he was promoted to Chunnin, the fact remained that neither he nor Hinata would be able to fight as comrades any longer. Hiruzen thought along the same lines and came to the same conclusion. Unfortunately, he would have to perform switches between teams. If Naruto-kun was not promoted to chunnin, then he will have to go to another team.

Hinata passed out one minute after awakening the light element.

* * *

**Author Note**

And it's the end of Chapter 13.

Quite a surprise right! Hinata awakened Hiton at her fight with Neji. That being said, either Naruto is promoted to Chunnin or change genin teams. I already know what will happen, but I'll leave to the readers to figure out.

Also, don't forget about the poll placed at the beginning of the chapter. I'm really looking forward to set Naruto up with either Kurenai or Anko. However, I'm also inclined to believe that Naruto can't have a pairing as he is right now.

Lastly, do not forget about the three challenges placed in my profile page.

See you.


	14. Training and Tournament Initiation

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Meshii.

First of all, I like to comment about the small pool placed last chapter. Indeed my concern was shared by a lot of reviewers about Naruto's set of mind, at least his current one that is. This Naruto is cold, calculative and gets his power from pain and suffering. Because of this, his pairing, if there was one, would be a woman who at least had a similar set of mind. On top of my head, I could think of Anko, Guren and Tayuya. The reason I placed Kurenai in the poll is because I was aiming for a more mature relationship with a local kunoichi. After courting the votes in the reviews page, I'm proud to announce the results as I was actually hoping to place her with Naruto:

**Anko: 22 votes (winner)**

Kurenai: 9 votes

Neither: 1 vote

Now I know what you're thinking. Early I said that the reviewers shared my concern about Naruto having difficulty in relating to someone because of his personality. That being said, why only one voted for **neither**? While some of the readers voted for either Kurenai or Anko, they also stated that his personality didn't allow others to interact in a romantic level. I happen to agree one hundred percent. That's why it will take some time before they even consider a relationship together. And even when they do, it won't be that fluffy relationship. Anko is a badass kunoichi and she will be like this in her personal life as well. So if people were expecting that Naruto will suddenly develop a soft side, he won't.

Now, moving on to the story, last chapter marked the second part of the chunnin exams as well as the preliminary battles. At the end, though, something unexpected happened in Hinata's fight against Neji. Hinata had awakened Hiton (Light Release). Now, a situation arose in team eight as Naruto no longer can be a part of it, considering that Hinata's mere presence weakens him. So repercussions are in order. Before starting the chapter, though, I'd like to spend some time and answers some of the reviewer's questions.

_**Lydia-Hood**__** – **_I do not intend on mass producing dark and light users. Hinata is the last one. Naruto's weakness is not the mere presence of a light user, but the effect use of the ability. Upon using it, it stops the fuel of Naruto's chakra, negative emotions. About a weakness to light release, while there won't be an occasion to explore it, consists of a lack of fuel like Naruto has. It just doesn't pack the same punch as dark release, being easily overcome by other attacks. In order to increase a light release technique, one must practice constantly and use more chakra for the technique. It just wouldn't realistic if light release were powered by good emotions.

_**Traviswj **_- As I said before, I agree with you. The way he is now isn't suitable for a fluffy romance. Anko isn't the typical romantic type, though.

_**Bibliophile1521**__ –_While I would be interesting, it would diverge from the concept of the story. I've read a similar story of Naruto's entire jutsu skill revolving around darkness and only darkness. I merely wish for him to use the element in jutsu as well as merge it with lighting for powerful attacks. I'm not interested in practically turning him into an antichrist. I appreciate it, though.

_**ArmyWife22079**_ – I'll admit that Tenten doesn't interest me like the others. I respect Tenten fans, but I wouldn't pick her for a pairing. I have nothing against her, since there are a couple of nice stories with her as Naruto's pair.

_**Impstar**__** – **_Yes, she lost.

Well, with that out of the way, let's proceed.

Please enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 14 – Training and Tournament Initiation**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

After the final match between Hinata and Neji was finished, the shinobi were all lined up for the final steps of the second part of the chunnin Exams.

The events surrounding Hinata's fight against Neji, more specifically, the light release's awakening, was unknown by most in the room, except for both Naruto and the Hokage. Both knew it was an issue that needed their utmost attention, but they couldn't deal with this right now in front of shinobi from other villages. The concept behind meiton and hiton residing in Konoha was still considered a secret as far as Hiruzen was concerned and he intended to keep it that way. He had enough experience in his life to know what enemy villages would do once they heard of shinobi with rare abilities. Naruto had enough animosity in his own home to deal with and now he would have to worry about Hinata as well. Standing in front of the chunnin hopefuls and with his jounin proctors flanking his position, Hiruzen realized it was time to address those who managed to qualify for the third and last phase of the chunnin exams.

"I applaud those who have reached thus far in the exams. Nevertheless, there is still one more phase necessary for a genin to become a chunnin. In exactly one month from now, those who qualified will participate in a one-on-one tournament. The skills displayed thus far will be taken into consideration for promotion, but it will be the skills displayed one month from now that will decide whether or not a genin is to be promoted to chunnin. You may ask the reason behind such a difference in time frame." Sarutobi waited a bit, before continuing. "There are exactly two reasons for that. First, because of the preliminaries, everyone here already knows or at least has an idea of what your opponent is capable of. The time frame is meant for training and hopefully, acquiring new set of skills or at least decrease the strength of your weaknesses."

Hiruzen could swear that he heard Shikaku's son Shikamaru saying thank you for that, but ignored it.

"The second reason is that the tournament will be held in the main arena and thus a great number of dignitaries from all over the elemental nations will be attending. It takes a bit of time for us to send the necessary invitations. Let it be known that a genin doesn't necessarily have to win the tournament in order to become a chunnin. The judges will take into account every bit of skill displayed and will decide according to what they see. This also means that there is a possibility that none of you are promoted to chunnin. We'll now see who will face whom. Each one of you will pick a number that is inside this box." Hiruzen said, pointing to the black box that was being held by Anko. "Anko, if you would…" The woman in question nodded and slowly passed the box to each of the genin. She was surprised to see that the Hokage's grandson grabbed his number without even looking at it. It was only later that she realized that the brat was like her old friend Tonbo.

After returning to the Hokage's side, she ordered the genins to announce their names followed by the chosen number. One by one, the genins announced, starting with Aburame Shino.

"Aburame Shino…number 7"

"Hyuuga Neji…number 1"

"Sabaku no Gaara…number 4"

"Huh…troublesome…Nara Shikamaru…number 5"

"Kinuta Dosu…number 6"

"Uchiha Sasuke…number 3"

"Yosh…Rock Lee…number 8"

Naruto quickly elbowed Sasuke and gave him the number for him to read, before announcing. "Sarutobi Naruto…number 2"

While Anko was busy sorting the competitor's position in the tournament chart, some of the genin were looking at Naruto in question, aside from Shino and Sasuke. Shikamaru was aware of Naruto's inability to see, being from the same classroom. However, seeing how the boy moved, it was rather unclear if he really was blind. Dosu, Gaara, Neji and Lee didn't know about it and were surprised at the fact that like Shikamaru, they all saw Naruto's movements. Rock Lee was looking at Naruto with a new light as he too has a disadvantage in battle. Anko then showed everyone the chart with the following battles. First one will be Sarutobi Naruto against Hyuuga Neji followed by Uchiha Sasuke against Sabaku no Gaara. The third battle will be between Nara Shikamaru and Kinuta Dosu and the forth one will be between Aburame Shino and Rock Lee. The results brought a great range of different thoughts.

Neji couldn't help but smirk at how fate worked. Despite being a member of the Sarutobi Clan, Naruto was blind. Neji, though, not only could see but also his eyes were a weapon themselves.

Sasuke was looking at Gaara with extreme focus as he saw what the sand genin did in the preliminaries. He needed an edge against him. Shikamaru only had one word in his mind, so he kept repeating it while Dosu was studying the shadow user. Aburame Shino pretty much stood there unmoving, but he was debating his odds against Rock Lee, a close-ranged fighter. There was no secret that the Aburame Clan member preferred maintaining a distance from the enemy. He also knew that Kurenai-sensei wouldn't be able to provide him much help in this regard as she too is a long-range fighter. He needed to consult his father about his training agenda. Perhaps he could teach Shino a new taijutsu style or even a weapon for him to use. Another fact that showed Lee's favoritism is the fact that his physical skills didn't require much chakra. Even if he sucked him dry, he would just keep on coming. Lastly, Naruto eyed everyone and smirked. People no doubt must be underestimating him because of his blindness. He could hear Neji's heart beat beat constantly without much alteration.

_He must be confident in believing his battle was already decided. Oh if I received money for each one that thought that my lack of sight is a disadvantage._

"Once again, I congratulate everyone who managed to reach this far. Everyone is dismissed." One by one, the genins went to their respective jounin sensei in order to leave the training ground in which they were still located. Naruto, though, remained as he knew that his grandfather would want to talk to him about what happened with Hinata. As he expected, his sensei Kurenai appeared and whispered that they were to leave the area with the Hokage as he wanted to talk. Naruto nodded and stood waiting for the call to leave together with Kurenai. He saw Shino looking at him briefly, before Kakashi appeared beside the bug user and spoke something to him. Shino quickly nodded and left with the scarecrow jounin.

"I noticed you didn't use much against the kunoichi from Sand. Although it ended being _effective_."

Kurenai commented, while waiting for everyone to leave. Naruto knew the woman wanted to use another adjective regarding how he treated the Sand Kunoichi and smirked.

"I had the feeling that the exams weren't over even before the preliminaries, so I didn't want to show more than necessary. I also wanted to test my new technique in the field. The results were above my first expectations." Kurenai didn't need to see the smile on the boy's face as she already knew him enough to know that her sick in the head genin enjoyed every moment of torturing the Suna kunoichi. Sometimes, she wondered if Naruto was secretly training with a friend of hers. Kurenai wanted to comment further, but was stopped once Mitarashi Anko appeared and ushered both jounin and student to follow them towards the Hokage's Tower.

The tower located in the middle of the training ground was deserted save from Kurenai, Anko and Naruto. Everyone else had already left.

Anko vanished using a shunshin, while Kurenai did as well, but not after placing her hand on Naruto's shoulder to take him along.

* * *

**===At the Hokage's Office===**

The Hokage was already in his office going through the invitations for the final part of the chunnin exams. When Anko arrived followed by Kurenai with Naruto, he left the invitations for later before looking at them. It somewhat pained the old man that the recent events forced him to make a decision against his grandson's genin team. Preacher of the will of fire and the value of teamwork in his shinobi, Sandaime was completely against separating teams, especially when said team displays splendid results in the field. Above all, he wished his grandson to socialize with others. Fate, though, decided to take that away from the old Saurobi.

"First of all, Kurenai-san, I'd like to extend my congratulations to your team for the results displayed at the Chunnin Exams. No doubt, their skills are a testament to your fine teachings." Kurenai couldn't help but blush at the Hokage's praise, however something inside her told that the reason she was called here wasn't a mere congratulations. "However, it pains me to tell you that in light of recent events, Team 8 can no longer function." Kurenai's eyes widened immediately. The young jounin looked at the elder Hokage for a while, trying to interpret something from his words, but she couldn't. What the hell happened recently that ruined her team.

"I beg your pardon, Hokage-sama, I don't understand why my team cannot function anymore?"

"I believe my grandson can explain it better than I can as what happened affected him the most." Kurenai did wonder why Naruto was called here as well. She turned to him and as usual, could see nothing from him.

"Sensei, did you remember my report of what happened at the bridge in Wave Country. How that fake hunter-nin Haku managed to awaken a power that repelled my own meiton abilities." Kurenai thought for a while, before remembering Naruto saying something in that regard. That ability is called Hiton (Light Release), which as far as I know, has the ability to completely repel dark release techniques, my techniques." The woman nodded, still not seeing where he was going with this.

"And what does that have to do with our team not being functional anymore?" Naruto could sense anger in her voice and he could hear her heart rate increasing.

Kurenai wanted nothing more than to help her team become one of the best in Konoha. Suddenly seeing that dream falling apart was setting her on edge.

"A few seconds before Neji moved to deliver the finishing blow on Hinata, she awakened Hiton as well. Therefore, whenever she uses her new skills close to me, my own power is hindered." There was little everyone knew about light and dark chakra manipulation and Kurenai happened to be a part of the population who knew nothing about it. She couldn't understand how or why this has happened to her team. With a defeated sigh, she looked at the Hokage regarding her team or rather what will happen to them now that two members cannot be together anymore. Hiruzen smiled at the woman. He could see that losing her team affected her deeply.

"Should Naruto be promoted to Chunnin, there won't be a need to worry about team replacements. However, should he not, then I'll have to rearrange the teams accordingly."

"I understand Hokage-sama." Kurenai said before bowing slightly not agreeing with the decision, but respecting it nonetheless. She then turned to her blind genin. "Well, until the Chunnin Exams is finished, you are still a part of Team 8. Seeing as Shino will be training with his clan, I will be training you for this month. We have a short time frame, but I wish to pass to you all there is to the art of illusions as I know you fancy the art as well." Naruto nodded, wanting nothing else than to improve on his genjutsu theory in order to incorporate new genjutsu techniques to his arsenal. However, his match turned out to be a great disadvantage at least as far as genjutsu was concerned.

"I appreciate it Kurenai-sensei, however illusions won't work against Neji's byakugan. Besides illusions, I was hoping to focus more in close combat skills, both offensive and defensive." Kurenai nodded.

Kurenai was aware of her student's matches and smirked at him.

"Oh I know of someone perfect to aid in that regard, don't you worry. She will be helping me train you for the month. And if you can defend yourself against her, you can defend yourself against anyone. Meet me tomorrow at the same place we always train." Hiruzen had to shiver, since he knew just who Kurenai was talking about. He felt for his grandson. This woman, if he was certain, was most deadly. The ignorant boy just nodded at what her sensei said, unaware of the impending doom that would soon reach him. Kurenai, then, turned to the Hokage. "Is there anything else, Hokage-sama?" Hiruzen nodded, before Kurenai and Naruto left his office. If Naruto managed to survive against whom he was thinking, than he was ready for the life of a chunnin. Hell, he would be hard pressed not to recommend his grandson to the Anbu forces if he survived an entire month.

* * *

**===Training Ground===**

The next day, Naruto and Kurenai were at the training ground where Team 8 always trained.

"Okay Naruto, one month may not be enough for the theory we need to cover about genjutsu, but I'll try to cover at least the most important aspects, so that you can cover the rest on your own free time. I firmly believe that you have the skills to become a genjutsu master in the future as it was my intention to pass to you all my knowledge in time. Shino and Hinata are adequate at the art, but none of them uses genjutsu much. Unfortunately, fate forced us to speed up the process. I'll also teach you my strongest genjutsu." Naruto nodded when suddenly he held his breath while unleashing his sword quickly and parried a couple of senbon that were heading straight to his neck.

Kurenai was prepared because she knew that the attack would be coming before Naruto even arrived at the training ground.

"You're right, Kurenai. He's quite fast, but his perception still needs improvement." Mitarashi Anko appeared in a shunshin next to Naruto's sensei. The boy thanked the heavens that no one could figure his line of sight. He was getting used to seeing little clothing that blocked that woman's body. Still, something rang deeply within him. The woman was right. His perception of the surroundings only resonated when the senbon were close. Had he realized it sooner, he wouldn't have evaded the projectiles so poorly. The senbon were aimed at specific points meant to disable the opponent. He now realized just what Kurenai was talking about yesterday.

"Dodging those senbon means chunnin type ability, at least. You owe me lunch next time, Anko." Kurenai smirked, showing the confidence she had in her finest student's evasion skills. "Naruto, I'm sure you have met Mitarashi Anko as she was the proctor of the second part of the Chunnin Exams." The blond merely nodded, reminding Anko of Tonbo slightly. "She will be aiding me in tutoring you for the month." Kurenai ushered the woman to speak.

"Nice to meet ya kid. Kurenai-chan here asked me to take good care of you for this month and I very well intend to. Those senbon were only to see how fast you were, expect multiple amounts throughout our training. Say kid, do you perhaps know one jounin named Tonbo. Looking how you move, you remind me of him." Naruto nodded, briefly reminiscing his training days under Tonbo-sensei. One of his fondest memories was racing his sensei throughout rooftops, stairs, pipes and pretty much anything that allowed them to hang or stand.

"He trained me when I was a kid. Hokage-jiji assigned him to tutor me how to overcome my blindness." Anko smirked deviously and Naruto couldn't help but smirk as well. Kurenai was right in comparing them.

"Huh….you don't say. Well, that man is pretty agile despite it all and he was able to sense my senbon much faster than you did. You believe you can survive my training throughout the month with little old me?"

Naruto had to snort at that.

"Anko-san, ever since I was little, genin and chunnin tried to kill me. They underestimated me and paid the price." A small smile appeared on Naruto's face at the screams, before continuing. "I don't just back off at the first sign of trouble." Anko had read the boy's file before coming here and was delighted at seeing that instead of simply defending himself throughout his life, the kid attacked and even better, almost killed the attackers when the Anbu came. Being tutored by Tonbo alone had already picked her interest. Now that she had met the boy personally, the woman was eager to see what he was capable of. She turned to Kurenai who was content in letting the talk to one another.

"I like him Kurenai, what do you have in mind for him?" Kurenai smiled at her friend and explained her plan.

"Basically, we'll begin with genjutsu theory in the morning until lunch time. After lunch, you can have your way with him, going from projectile throwing, evasion, taijutsu, anything." Naruto was able to see how eager Anko was in _having her way with him _as Kurenai-sensei put it. "After physical training, I'll be teaching Naruto my most powerful illusions." Anko nodded, before Kurenai turned to Naruto. "I trust you can train ninjutsu on your own?" Naruto nodded. He learned meiton from another entity. Said entity opted to speak now since they were discussing his host's training regimen. When it was turn to train its host, he was all ears. No bijuu desired a weak host after all.

"**It's high time you learned other uses for Meiton. Once you finish with your training with the females, come inside and I'll teach you a technique called Meiton Seishou Douka (Dark Release: Energy Absorption Technique)." **(Author Note – This technique appeared in Naruto Shippuden Movie #3 when Hiruko captures a shinobi with the meiton bloodline and uses the ability by landing his hand on the opponent's forehead)

"Yes, I got ninjutsu covered. Since Kakashi will be training Sasuke, my lightning affinity training will be put on hold for the time being."

Anko remembered something and thought about giving a little contribution to the plan.

"Kurenai-chan, seeing as the kid here fancies a sword, perhaps Yuugao could come here and give him some pointers?" Naruto remained silent as the jounin started discussing his training.

"I considered that, but wouldn't it be too much to cover in one month. He has already shown adequate skills with the sword. Yuugao has a tight schedule, thus it would only be once a week." Anko nodded.

"I'll talk to her, surely she won't mind. She has been begging to find a suitable student for kenjutsu; at least to give him some pointers for future reference." Anko vanished without waiting for Kurenai's approval.

Kurenai sighed in dismay, before turning to her student with her arms crossed. "Ok Naruto, please take a seat so that we can begin the course genjutsu mastery 101". The boy eagerly complied while at the same time looking forward to this one month being trained not by one but three powerful shinobi in the respective field. Kurenai was a genjutsu master, Anko's ability with projectiles and swift evasion was uncanny and this Yuugao person was considered a kenjutsu specialist. Plus, he had a teacher for dark release ninjutsu that far exceeded anyone's expectations. Of course, he needed to convince said teacher to teach him sometimes, but it was worth it, especially since the fox wasted little effort in complaining about anything these days. The boy smirked upon hearing the fox growling at him for his remarks. It was quite amusing indeed.

* * *

**===Three weeks later===**

Naruto woke up and was surprised to see that he was in his room.

The last thing he remembered was the incredible headache he felt while dealing with Kurenai, Yuugao, Anko and Kyuubi's teachings. The boy had been quite busy these last few weeks as he absorbed pretty much anything that came out of his four sensei's mouths. Every day, Kurenai began by testing every single brain cell with advanced genjutsu theory. His mistake was showing the eager woman that he was able to understand most of what she was saying, allowing her to move the subject much faster. After Kurenai, Anko appeared and literally turned him into both a pin cushion and a punching bag. When it was proven that the woman alone couldn't reach him, she resorted to some help from her summoning clan, the snakes. Naruto at the time wished he would ask to sign the monkey clan so that they could keep those annoying reptiles from biting him all over the place.

Like Anko and Kurenai promised, Uzuki Yuugao, whom Naruto learned was one of his grandfather's personal Anbu guard, appeared once a week. In order to keep her identity a secret, she didn't show up wearing her Anbu armor. The Anbu stylized pants remained, but instead of the armor, she wore a sleeveless shirt covered by a jounin vest. She had long purple hair and a reserved expression on her face as if any minute someone was about to jump on her. Naruto later learned that the woman was a strict teacher and she wasn't satisfied until Naruto learned every single movement of many styles she was teaching him. Naruto even had to resort to Anko's teaching on quick evasion when he missed one of Yuugao's moves. Using a shunshin to appear behind him, Yuugao aimed a strong swing at his side stomach. After that, Naruto received more beatings from Kurenai as she began to teach him one of her advanced genjutsu techniques, the **Magen Jubaku Satsu** (Demonic Illusion Tree Binding Death Technique).

If that wasn't enough, Naruto still had late night training under Kyuubi inside of him, learning how to increase his meiton manipulation until he could absorb the energy of others.

All this training was simply too much for his brain to assimilate so fast. The fox even had to use some of his chakra so Naruto wouldn't lose his mind. The simple reason he was in his room right now was because he passed out yesterday. He found a note next to his bed left by Kurenai, written in Braille, saying that he needed to rest for the day in order to assimilate everything that was being taught to him. For the first time in his life, Naruto preferred resting instead of training. His head was still in pain but was steadily getting better. Releasing a long and tired sigh, Naruto returned to the comfort of his pillow and slept once more. Never in his life was he this tired.

* * *

**===At the Hokage's Office===**

At the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen was smirking while hearing the reports of Anko and Kurenai about his grandson.

"So Naruto has being doing well, I see." All three women in the room, two visible and one hidden in the shadows, found Hiruzen's question to be a small understatement. If he was considered a high level genin, now they considered him easily mid to high chunnin material by the end of three weeks. They made a special training regimen that anyone would have quitted by now. Hell, even they were reluctant to admit that doing a similar training was almost impossible. In Anko's opinion, the gaki pretty much asked for it. Still, the boy's resilience and chakra capacity was completely off the charts. To believe that he managed to hold his ground for three whole weeks was impressive. Aside from that, Anko didn't remember one time when she had this much fun torturing someone. Also, when it was time to rest, she and the gaki began to talk on occasions. His perception of the world was quite impressive for someone so young.

Being the boy's sensei until the end of the chunnin exams, Kurenai took one step forward and reported.

"Hokage-sama, Naruto's training got out of hand. At first, we planned to go through the material slowly for him to adapt. However, it didn't take him long to learn and he didn't want time to rest. In fact, if he had slept at all during the training, I would be surprised. In the end, all three of us saw it as a challenge to see how far he would go before succumbing to defeat." All of the women present could have sworn that they heard someone else laughing inside the office, but ignored it. "We ended up training a genin to become a jounin, instead of a mere chunnin." The Hokage could hear truth in such exasperated words. He knew Naruto to be a bit extreme when it came to training. Tonbo had already alerted him of this when the boy was but an infant. His grandson wouldn't be satisfied until he fully grasped every single opportunity given to him. In truth, this was the main reason of Hiruzen's respect for the boy, aside from the parental love.

"Alright, calm down Kurenai. Naruto was always a handful. I remember my daughter and my son-in-law chasing the boy throughout the Sarutobi Manor. Imagine if he wasn't blind."

Both Anko and Kurenai's eyes widened while imagining how Naruto would be. They couldn't help but shiver. Once more, a new voice giggled. Sarutobi, this time, had to intervene.

"What do you have in mind for this last week, Kurenai?"

"Well, I was hoping to let him rest. Anko here wanted to give the Snake Contract to him, but I believe that he would be signing the Monkey Contract, am I right Hokage-sama?"

The old man nodded. He was considering talking to the monkey boss Enma about both Naruto and Konohamaru signing the contract.

"Letting him rest is a splendid idea. And yes, I intend for him to sign with the Monkey Summoning Contract. It's his right as a member of the Sarutobi Clan. I appreciate your report Kurenai-san; dismissed."

Both Anko and Kurenai left the office, leaving Sarutobi presumably alone.

"I take it you've been checking on him as well, Jiraiya." As if on cue, a tall man with long white hair suddenly appeared out of nowhere hanging by the office's opposing wall. He smirked at the old man, at least older than him. You have arrived in the village two weeks ago and didn't bother to pay your old sensei a visit. I trust that you were busy with some side projects." This time Jiraiya showed his teeth while smiling. He needed his research for his book after all.

"At first, when I saw the brat, I thought your letters were exaggerating. He is indeed quite skilled for someone so young. He is more than ready for the promotion." Hiruzen nodded.

"He still needs to appease the judges, but I believe he'll do just fine. Now, do you have anything for me to work on?" Jiraiya snorted at the question.

"You expected anything less from me, sensei. Orochimaru is on the move again." Hiruzen became serious all of a sudden as Jiraiya expected. "He has been quite busy near Rice and Wind Country these days, meeting high officials and daimyos. I heard rumors about Suna not enjoying the fact that the Wind Daimyo is passing most of their missions to us." Hiruzen nodded. He already had his suspicions when the Wind Daimyo came to him for missions. "One of my sources managed to uncover a secret meeting between the Kazekage and Orochimaru. I wouldn't put it past me to see a threat lingering in the air. Perhaps it would be wise to increase the village security during the exams."

Hiruzen turned to think out loud.

"Considering that Suna is angry with us for taking their missions, Orochimaru wouldn't think twice in taking advantage. I will be talking with the Anbu commander and place a couple of teams disguised in the audience. If something happens, it will certainly be at the arena where the exams will occur. In that event, I would enjoy your company beside me at the exams. If anything, your presence there may very well convince the enemy not to strike." Jiraiya nodded. If Orochimaru is planning something, he must be counting on the absence of either Jiraiya because of his position as spy master and Tsunade because of her never wanting to return to the village.

"Well, I can take the time and update my research. Any chance I can pass on the toad contract to the brat?" Hiruzen was expecting Jiraiya to ask that of him since his biological father signed as well.

"I know that Minato would have wanted him to sign the toads, but he is a Sarutobi now. All members of the family sign it when they are ready." Jiraiya nodded, not much interested in convincing him. It was because of the Sarutobi Clan, that Naruto had learned the concept of a family. They had all the rights as his adoptive family. Seeing as neither had anything else to talk about, Jiraiya left the office through the window, leaving Sarutobi alone to go over the security details for the exams. Hiruzen knew he couldn't place too many Anbu operatives hidden. Orochimaru would spot them instantly. Thus placing the elite of the elite in key places next to the officials was the best way to go. If something happened to them inside the village, Konoha would bear the responsibility, not mattering if the attack was caused by an enemy.

* * *

**===At night===**

Few people knew, but Anko, Kurenai and Yuugao were actually the best of friends. They would go out for drinks on occasions but since Yuugao managed to join the Anbu, they only went out when she was free and neither Anko nor Kurenai had a mission, of course. This was one of the days that all three of them managed time for drinks. So here they were at a more isolated pub. They don't enjoy crowded places and it was relatively quiet enough for them to maintain a nice conversation. Plus, Anko had a thing for dango and this place happens to make the best dango in Konoha. Immediately after arriving, Anko ordered a bottle of hot sake and three sets of dango.

"Well, it's nice to see you two again here. It's nice of you to join us Yuugao-chan." The swordswoman nodded as she took a zip of sake while savoring the taste of alcohol. It was quite relaxing and it helped her forget.

"Yeah, Anbu has taken all the time I had these days. I was lucky to have tonight off. Plus Hayate is out doing a patrol mission around the village."

_**(AN: For those wondering about Hayate, his fate is the same as canon)**_

"Well, his loss is our gain." Kurenai said as the women made a toast, before taking another zip. Anko had already finished one dango stick by now. She then turned to Kurenai with a smirk on her face.

"So Kurenai-chan, how is Asuma doing these days?" The direct question made Kurenai choke on her sake, before looking at the snake mistress. "It's no mystery that you guys are seeing each other, right Yuugao?"

"Yeah, I heard some in Anbu HQ commenting about it. It's weird to believe how much gossip runs within those walls. I remember one kunoichi saying that she saw you two making out in an alley." Kurenai blushed immediately while Anko was laughing her ass off. Kurenai even remembered using genjutsu around them so that no one would spot it. The Anbu must have thought it was a threat and dispelled it before leaving. She had to tell Asuma not to make a fool of himself trying to hide it.

"Well, there is no use hiding I guess. Yes, we've been seeing each other for two months now. One time he came at the training ground to take Naruto away to some meeting with the Hokage and asked me out. We went to a sushi place that night. We turned to talk a bit and hit it off. And before anyone asks, I'm not about to tell details of my love life." She laughed when Anko protested like a child. She really wanted to hear the details.

"You're no fun. You always keep ruining my entertainment, just like you stopped me from playing with the gaki yesterday."

Kurenai and Yuugao looked incredulously at the woman. Yuugao was the one who inquired the snake mistress.

"Anko, Naruto was on the verge of unconsciousness when you set a twenty foot purple snake after him. He had zero chakra left and he could barely stand because of his training. His only source of strength was his will to never back off from a fight. Even so, Kurenai had to place a genjutsu on the snake, since you weren't about to order your summons to stop the attack." Anko smirked at the memory. The brat managed to put one hell of a fight against her pets. And even when he was about to faint, he still stood there facing the opponent.

"He can take the heat, of that I assure you. In fact, I believe he would be more pissed at Kurenai for stopping the fight than me. That meiton ability of his is quite impressive, isn't it?" Kurenai sighed in dismay at the woman. Leave it to her to be impressed by an ability that is fueled by negative emotions. Anko, though, continued. "I mean, every time he got angry, his chakra became more potent. That black dragon of his scared even me and that's not an easy feat." Yuugao had to agree, though. When that black monster roared, Yuugao couldn't help but be intimidated. Dark chakra manipulation was considered a legend amongst the high level shinobi, even if it was theoretically possible. She ended up agreeing with Anko.

"Naruto is indeed chunnin material if not tokubetsu in ninjutsu and genjutsu. He once used a technique against me that incorporated both his meiton and raiton chakra."

Kurenai couldn't help but sigh in dismay at the thought of possibly losing him to another jounin sensei. He had an amazing amount of potential and he barely scratched the surface of it. She wanted to take him further. Now, regardless of his results in the chunnin exams, he would no longer be working with Team 8. They would only work together if Hinata is in another place. Yuugao and Anko were discussing some of Naruto's abilities, before they both saw the downed look on Kurenai's face. They both knew how proud the woman was of her team. Said feeling diminished by training the boy, but it didn't go away. Her only solace was in Naruto's desire to become a genjutsu master. Even if he wasn't in her team anymore, he certainly could and would come to her for guidance in the art of illusions.

"Cheer up Kurenai-chan. He will be promoted to chunnin easily. There won't be a need to worry about him being in another genin team. A toast for the gaki's future promotion." Anko shouted, followed by Yuugao.

The genjutsu master didn't join the toast for a while, before joining her best friends. She couldn't do anything less than cheer for her genins' promotion at the chunnin exams.

The girls kept chatting for a long time, before going home. Yuugao had a smile on her face as she enjoyed meeting the girls. She was deeply unaware of the fact that her boyfriend wouldn't come home anymore.

* * *

**===Tournament Day===**

Fireworks were sent in the sky, showing the opening of such an illustrious and prestigious event.

The Third Phase of the Chunnin Exams represented a chance for a genin to truly test his skills against others. It was a chance for them to also see whether or not they deserved the rank of chunnin and thus participate in harder missions for the benefit of the village. For the village, the Chunnin Exams was a twisted sense of a 'showroom' where they could show their shinobi to future clients. Most of the missions given to Konoha were either because of its tradition as the strongest hidden village or a result of the skills displayed by the members of Konoha's many shinobi clans. Such is the importance of these exams for a village's financial income that the five hidden villages decided that each semester, the exams would be held in a different hidden village. It was decided at the pact of neutrality signed by the Five Great Ninja Villages after the third great ninja war.

The hidden village in the leaves was filled with locals and foreigners, civilian, shinobi, merchants, dignitaries and even daimyos and their respective guards.

Pretty much everyone in the village was forming a beaming line towards the arena where the final exams will be held. The bets were already made as this exam happened to be quite special. Members from the Hyuuga, Nara and Sarutobi Clan were attending as well as the main attraction, Uchiha Sasuke, the last Uchiha. The Kazekage's son was also participating. There were no clear winner, but it didn't mean that the gamblers cared to study the genin info as thoroughly. Pretty much most gamblers placed their bets on Hyuuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke to win. Neji was fighting against a member of the Sarutobi Clan and Sasuke was fighting against the Kazekage's son.

Half an hour later, the arena was trembling under the pressure of people filling the seats. The noise was deafening and Naruto had to reduce the flow of chakra so as not to be disoriented by the loud noise.

The genins were lined up in the center of the arena and in front of a jounin wearing a bandana and chewing a toothpick. They were only waiting for the Hokage's appearing to start the first match between Naruto and Neji. The Hyuuga was eyeing Naruto with confidence while Naruto just seemed to stare at nothing in particular. The memory of his talk with Hinata was still fresh in his mind. She was saddened by what happened and even blamed herself for ruining the team. Naruto surmised saying that it was no one's fault and that they would need to go on different paths from now on. As Naruto was about to return to his house, Hinata tried to convince him not to use his meiton against her cousin. She knew firsthand what happened to people who tried fighting against it. Naruto told her not to worry about it, since he only killed villagers who attacked him for no reason and enemies of Konoha.

The jounin of Konoha were gathered in a special part of the audience as they saw the genins lined up. Kurenai and Anko were eager to see how Naruto faired against Neji, but they knew it wouldn't be much of a challenge, after training the blind shinobi for the month. Naruto knew his theory, thus he knew about the village's doujutsu and how they operate. Of course, Neji had his own people cheering for him, being his teammate Tenten and his jounin sensei Maito Gai. Five minutes later, both the Sandaime Hokage and the Kazekage appeared at the Kage Booth. The Kazekage was flanked by two jounin while the Sandaime was flanked by none other than one of the sannin Jiraiya. They all saw the brief nod given by Sarutobi to Genma, before he addressed the genin.

"Alright, it's time for the first match. Everyone besides Sarutobi Naruto and Hyuuga Neji, please leave the arena."

As instructed, only Naruto and Neji remained facing each other.

"Fate has already decided that I will win this match. There is nothing you can do that will change that." Naruto though just remained silent as he observed the Hyuuga.

"I can feel great anger and resentment coming from you, Neji. You try to maintain a focused expression, but I can see you're trying to control yourself and badly at that. This match won't take long." Naruto even crossed his arms to back up his statement. He saw Neji's eyebrows bending slightly and smirked. He was a walking bomb just waiting for the right push. "The angrier you become, the more you increase your chances of defeat at my hands." Genma looked at the blond kid, wondering if what he heard of him was real. He was friends with Tonbo as well and they talked about the blond on a couple occasions. Genma admitted being interested in seeing someone manipulating dark chakra.

When Genma authorized the battle, Neji's byakugan was already active as he threw a great load of projectile at Naruto.

The blind shinobi quickly grabbed a kunai and deflected the shuriken, while preparing his stance as Neji took the opportunity and shortened the distance for a close-range fight. For a cool and calculating genin, Neji was acting a little too rashly. Naruto could see Neji's fingers glowing with chakra and knew he was meaning to quickly close his tenketsu. Naruto quickly performed a couple of hand seals, before vanishing from his current position, at least to Neji he did. The byakugan was quick to see the genjutsu, but Naruto was counting on it lasting just enough time for him to appear by Neji's side and land a fierce kick on his stomach. He saw Neji trying to close the tenketsu on his leg, despite the pain, and performed a couple back flips.

Immediately going though hand seals, Naruto slammed both hands on the ground.

_Meiton Gaikotsu Bunshin (Dark Release: Skeleton Bunshin Technique)_

Like the preliminaries, Neji saw the bone structures emerging from the ground. He was prepared for this as he used his agility to go around the bone clones and attack the real one. However, as he was about to land the finishing strike, Neji had to dodge an incoming blow from one of the bunshin. He believed himself to be fast, but he couldn't escape a clone which had less chakra than the original. When Naruto fought Temari at the preliminaries, the bunshin weren't this fast. The three bunshin managed to circle Neji like they did with Kurenai, forcing him to increase his taijutsu. The bunshin were attacking him flawlessly and Neji couldn't see the real one. His byakugan, though, could see Naruto molding chakra for a technique.

_Meiton Kuro Senbon (Dark Release: Dark Needle Technique)_

Neji cursed his position and started spinning while releasing chakra from all his tenketsu, shocking the members of the Hyuuga Clan's main branch. Neji, a branch member, just performed one of their techniques. The needles passed by the clones, but were stopped by the Hyuuga's defense. The kaiten managed to strike the bunshin as well, before he stopped spinning, while looking at the blond with a smug look on his face, despite wiping the blood from his mouth because of a nasty bone punch. Naruto, though, remained unchanged as he just focused a single hand seal as tendrils from below ground trapped the Hyuuga. Neji snarled and tried to break free of the tendrils. Much to his dismay, though, the tendrils began to squeeze his body even more. He could see the smirk on Naruto's face.

"While you're dealing with the bunshin, I hid those tendrils below you. I just waited for you to finish your technique before controlling it once more."

Neji snarled in pain as he could feel his ribs crack under the pressure. He released chakra through every tenketsu on his body and managed to release the tendrils' pressure, but not fully.

"It's quite impressive, Neji. There is a reason they call you a genius after all. However, you are wasting your chakra by the second. I give you one more minute." The level of control needed to constantly release chakra from all tenketsu was too much for his chakra coils, so he had to let go. The tendrils came back full force and even broke two ribs. His scream echoed throughout the clearing. Neji's eyes landed on a piece of rock that was behind him and used a simple kawarimi to escape. Once more, Naruto was surprised. No one managed to escape the tendrils before and Neji did it twice. His will to fight must mean more to him than the pain of ribs breaking. The Hyuuga was holding his stomach in pain, while spitting blood to the ground. The genin was having trouble breathing because of his ribs. Despite it all, he still maintained his fate speech, much to the blond's amusement.

"I can't lose. Fate has already decided I would win." Genma had already seen enough of the battle.

"Your resilience to pain is admirable, Neji. However, it appear that fate isn't on your side. You wasted too much chakra and you can barely stand, much less defend yourself. You're finished."

The Hyuuga prodigy snarled at the proclamation as he held his stomach in a desperate attempt to ease the pain he was feeling. To this day, Neji never faced an opponent that caused such an effect to him. Naruto had owned the battle from the start. The blind shinobi could have finished with Neji at the beginning of the battle, but chose not to. Naruto was toying with him. To someone who prided himself of always being the best and praised as such, the part of him that was hurting the most was his ego. Neji's shock was indeed shared by most in the audience, save a few in the names of Kurenai and Anko, who were discreetly smirking at each other. The famous byakugan lost against a shinobi who was blind. Who would ever imagine that to be true if they didn't see it with their own two eyes. Neji's team sensei and teammate were at disbelief at how easily Neji was beaten by this Sarutobi Naruto. Despite training him for a short while, Kakashi was surprised at the level of speed that Naruto and his clones moved.

He was at a loss of what happened throughout the month that showed such radical changing. Asuma just smirked at this. His adopted nephew was something else, indeed. At the genin booth, everyone looked at Naruto's back in focus as they would undoubtedly be his adversary next. Uchiha Sasuke, though, only smirked as he saw his rival win the fight with extreme ease. If he didn't perceive a rival as stronger than him, then what would be the point of comparing himself to the blind ninja? Sasuke had one goal in life and that was to become stronger. Gaara just maintained his vicious smile upon seeing someone that could validate his existence. At the Kage's booth, both Hokage and Kazekage were in agreement regarding the boy.

"I wasn't aware of such potential in your village, Hokage-dono. Surely, you must be proud both as Hokage and as clan head." Hiruzen smirked at this.

"Naruto-kun is indeed full of potential, Kazekage-dono. There is no doubt in my mind that he'll receive the promotion." Jiraiya chose not to comment, but he didn't like what he saw in Naruto. There was something about his moves, his way of thinking that threw Jiraiya off track for a moment. He had not expected the boy to behave as vicious as someone he knew more than most in the past, his teammate Orochimaru. Somehow, Jiraiya thought that Naruto would incorporate either his biological father's geniuses or his mother's impulsive behavior. He couldn't see either one of them in the boy and it saddened him greatly. He heard from his sensei what happened to the boy throughout his life and in a way, it justified Naruto's actions today.

Naruto saw that Neji wasn't going to quit the battle, despite being thoroughly humiliated. He saw Genma approaching the center and crossed his arms waiting for the announcement.

"Winner of the first match is Sarutobi Naruto."

If Naruto was anyone else, the crowd surely would be erupting into cheers right now for his display. Even if Naruto impressed the chunnin judges, most of the audience was consisted of Konoha's population. Even if Naruto was adopted into a prestigious clan like the Sarutobi, they didn't look at him as anything more than a demon. In their minds, his actions towards others only solidified their first notions. Hiruzen Sarutobi caught on this immediately and began to understand Naruto's actions after awakening his bloodline, meiton. It saddened him greatly. No matter what the boy did or will do in the future, he will never receive the proper appreciation for his efforts. Sarutobi's concern though wasn't shared by the actual victim of the praise, or lack thereof. Naruto just wasn't seeking for the village's acceptance. Hell, if it weren't for the Anbu around, he would have killed the majority of those who attacked him in the past.

The boy was content with fulfilling his assignments and becoming stronger. He only wanted acknowledgement that came out of fear, not from empty praises.

Neji was taken to the infirmary while Naruto went back to the genin booth, while the jounin proctor called up the next fight.

"Now let's proceed with the second fight of the day between Sabaku no Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke."

As if this was the first battle of the tournament, the crowd erupted like a volcano upon hearing that the Uchiha nobility would be next. In the audience, Kurenai was looking at Anko from the corner of her eye. The usually vicious and exuberant woman was dead silent as she stared at Naruto's back as he left the arena. Seeing how little the population's opinion of him is, she couldn't help but remember having the same treatment in the past. Both of them received the village hatred because of the actions of another person or entity. Orochimaru was to Anko as Kyuubi was to Naruto. Back at the arena, Sabaku no Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke stood in front of each other, while waiting for Genma to authorize the battle. The audience was eager as some even placed a great load of money for Sasuke to win. However no one was more eager as the Kazekage as he looked at Sasuke with a vicious smirk on his face.

'_Show me what you can do, Sasuke-kun. You'll be mine eventually. It's just a matter of time'._

* * *

**Author Note**

Well, that's it for now.

Please tell me what you think about it.

Next chapter will cover the rest of the exams and the invasion as well. Also, I have another poll for as I'm in doubt regarding what to do with the Sandaime Hokage. The presence of Jiraiya by his side changes things, but it will be enough to prevent Orochimaru from killing the old man? The poll is the following. Sarutobi lives or dies? One way or another, Tsunade will return to the village, but her position in the village will depend on the poll's results.

See ya.


	15. Invasion

**Author Note**

Hi there and welcome to another chapter of Meshii.

Last chapter, I had placed a poll as to whether or not the Sandaime Hokage dies at the invasion. A minority voted for his death, stating that because of it, Naruto's power would increase based on his need for revenge (A valid idea). However, the majority voted for him to live. I managed to, therefore, come up with a few twists in how the invasion goes, so as to accommodate the readers' choice. I believe it will be to your liking. It certainly pleased me, but you'll be the judge. Now, last chapter, Naruto managed to beat Neji in the finals fairly easy by playing with the kid's emotions and gaining power from it. Now, its Sasuke Uchiha's fight against Sabaku no Gaara.

Check it out.

* * *

**Chapter 15 – Invasion**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku no Gaara stood in the middle of the arena, looking at each other for a brief moment as Genma had yet to authorize the battle to begin. Gaara was crossing his arms as he usually did while smirking viciously at his opponent. He always behaved like this in the presence of strong shinobi. It was individuals like Sasuke that Gaara enjoyed facing the most, since it proved his existence. His sand would soon be coated with royal Uchiha blood. It won't take long now. Sasuke, for his part, carried a confident smile on his face. He wanted to defeat Gaara for no other reason than the fact that he would be facing Naruto in the next round. Sasuke didn't believe his match was easy enough to predict an easy win, but his goal wasn't on Gaara but defeating his rival instead. He cared little about chunnin promotions or appeasing the jurors with his skills. He only intended to match his power against Naruto's.

When the jounin announced it, Gaara' sand lunged after the Uchiha, who maintained the smirk.

The Sharingan was still inactive when the fight began.

Sasuke used a quick shunshin and got out of the sand's path, before focusing chakra to his legs for a quick burst. The Uchiha was in front of Gaara instantly, shocking the Sand Jinchuuriki as well as those in the audience who recognized the technique Sasuke had just displayed. Maito Gai was looking at Kakashi with disappointment. The scarecrow jounin, for his part, simply ignored the green spandex jounin's stare and watched the match. The Uchiha needed an edge against Gaara, after all. Sasuke aimed a punch at Gaara which was parried by the sand. The Uchiha, though, wasn't deterred and vanished in another shunshin, appearing behind the surprised Gaara, before attempting another taijutsu strike. The pattern was followed by Sasuke until it was evident that Gaara's sand wasn't able to follow. Sasuke's fist met Gaara's cheek and sent him skidding on the ground. Sasuke knew not to wait for his opponent to get up and performed a number of hand seals, before gathering air inside his lungs.

_Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)_

The fire meteor charged at Gaara with impressive speed. The Sand Jinchuuriki just stood there as the sand engulfed him in a protective barrier. When the smoke was cleared and Gaara' sand retreated, a fuuma shuriken appeared out of nowhere, heading straight for Gaara who simply got out of the way. He wasn't prepared, however, for a second fuuma shuriken following soon after. His sand blocked the second projectile, but Sasuke was actually counting on that. The second shuriken was filled with paper bombs. The explosion made the entire arena tremble. The Uchiha smirked at that, waiting to see the result. His instinct, though, screamed at him to move, before a barrage of sand erupted from the ground close to trapping his arm and leg. Upon further inspection of Gaara's body, Sasuke could see cracks on his face. Quickly activating the sharingan, the Uchiha realized how Gaara came out unscathed. His entire body was coated with chakra. The sand jinchuuriki was forming a sand barrier for a second protection. Vanishing once more using Lee's technique, Sasuke engaged Gaara once more in taijutsu. The sand jinchuuriki summoned a suna bunshin to deal with the Uchiha from afar, but it was quickly dealt with.

Sasuke, this time, was much faster since he was being guided by his red eyes.

Charging his hands with electricity, this time, Sasuke managed to slip Gaara's guard and place both hands and sent lightning chakra inside Gaara's body. Outside, perhaps Gaara was indestructible, but inside was another manner. The Sand Jinchuuriki could do nothing but scream in pain as Sasuke even focused more chakra. Since Gaara's body was coated with sand, his body was weak against lightning techniques. Sasuke released his hold on Gaara as he saw his eyes closing because of the pain. Gaara's body was on the ground immediately, still trembling because of the current inside his body. The entire stadium was in silence as they watched the match of the genius Uchiha. Kakashi smirked as his theory about Gaara's sand was proved correct. Their entire training revolved around increasing Sasuke's speed and incorporating the shunshin to his taijutsu abilities. Genma gave the victory to Sasuke much to the audience's glee as they cheered for the Uchiha.

Up from the audience Temari, Kankurou and Baki were gawking at the fact that Gaara had lost his battle.

However, when the rain of feathers was visible, all three of them looked at each other for a brief moment. It was the signal to start. The same time the feather rain started, a blast erupted from the Kages' seat. When everyone's attention seemed to be with the kages, Temari and Kankurou went towards the arena to take Gaara somewhere safe. As soon as they landed near their unconscious brother, they had to dodge a batch of kunai thrown by Sasuke. Instantly, four more chunnin appeared on the arena and charged at the enemies from the Sand. Baki appeared too late to avoid his other students getting captured and moved to other sides of the arena to assist his peers against a group of leaf shinobi. In no time, the stadium was filled with shinobi from sound, sand and leaf facing each other. The anbu hidden in the audience were busy fending off against a select bunch who moved against the high officials that came to see the exam. If they were killed inside the village, Konoha would be the one to take the blame. The chunnin attendants moved to defend the stadium. Shino, Shikamaru and Lee went to their respective jounin senseis for their orders.

Naruto, on the other hand, appeared next to Sasuke much to his surprise, since the Uchiha haven't sensed him at all.

"How did you sneak behind me?"

"Your mind was focused elsewhere, I guess." Naruto jut smirked at Sasuke's frown, before throwing two kunai at two sand chunnin

The chunnin were parried, but Naruto and Sasuke were already in front of them grabbing the kunai and delivering the kill. Naruto gave his bloody kunai to Sasuke, before grabbing his sword. Sasuke smirked at this and looked at his rival. "Okay, you can answer my question after this is over." Activating his sharingan once more, Sasuke engaged in fierce taijutsu with more sand and sound chunnin with Naruto backing him up, while at the same time dealing with some enemies of his own. While Naruto's sword couldn't kill, it didn't mean it was less dangerous. Since they were enemies, Naruto didn't need to hold back his strength, slamming his sword in target areas taught by Anko to produce more damage to the human issue like the neck, shoulder, arms and leg joints. In the end, Naruto and Sasuke managed to come up, even if one the fly, with a spectacular level of teamwork. Naruto would land a fierce blow on the enemy and Sasuke would deliver the killing blow.

* * *

**===At the Kage's booth===**

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Kazekage stood against each other in their kage's attire. Jiraiya was next to his sensei as he spotted the purple barrier that was raised by four sound-nins. It was no doubt an amazing work the likes of which would take the pervert a while to break, if he was outside. The technique's expertise was further proved when a brave, yet foolish, Anbu attempted to simply cross over and was instantly combusted because of it. Looking at his sensei for a while, he could practically see how the man was suffering because of his student's traitorous actions. Any damage to the village or its villagers caused by this invasion added a ton of guilt on Hiruzen's shoulder.

If he hadn't let Orochimaru escape that day, everything would be averted.

"This time you went too far, Orochimaru. I'd been lenient on you that day, but no more. Today, you die even if I have to take you with me." The snake sannin, still disguised as Kazekage, simply smirked before losing the disguise, showing his sound outfit. An action followed by Hiruzen, showing his black and gray outfit. The snake sannin briefly looked at his opposition and while admitting that defeating both at the same time was difficult, Orochimaru had a relaxed posture.

"Bold words Sarutobi-sensei; bold words indeed for an old timer such as yourself. However, even with the idiot by your side, there is no way you can defeat me. The village will burn and I'll be smiling in the end taking all the credit." Orochimaru was extending both arms towards the ground, when suddenly a great load of snakes appeared from within his sleeves, setting both Jiraiya and Hiruzen on edge. When the snakes began to gather with each other and grow to the sannin's size, both opponents already knew what the man was intending. The gathered snakes were immediately transformed into a new copy of Orochimaru, mirroring his posture perfectly. "A rather peculiar ninjutsu, wouldn't you say Sarutobi-sensei. My Hebi Bunshin no Jutsu allows me to create a perfect copy without any form of setback. This way I can face both of you without worry. Now, how about we proceed?"

Despite the seemingly identical odds, the Hokage couldn't help but smile at his student.

"You know better than most, Orochimaru, that every jutsu has a weakness. It's just a matter of time in finding it."

* * *

**===At the arena===**

The chunnin were not very hard opponents for the two elite genins, but when a jounin appeared, they were hard pressed to defend.

It took Sasuke keeping the man occupied with the housenka technique for Naruto to use his dark tendrils technique and snare the jounin long enough for Sasuke to use a more offensive ninjutsu technique. Even so, the man was fierce. Still trapped in the tendrils, Naruto appeared and touched the enemy's forehead. Focusing dark chakra, Naruto felt his energy being replenished quickly and the look on the man's face in shock after feeling his energy being drained.

_Meiton Seishou Douka (Dark Release: Energy Absorption Technique)_

Both genin were startled by an earth technique coming their way, before Genma appeared and used the Doujinheki to lift a protective wall. The man was confident that the others would deal with things while he talked with the genin. Quickly assessing the situation, he could see that Naruto and Sasuke were able to hold their ground against higher level opponents. Also, the teamwork displayed by these two was surprisingly efficient. No doubt, these two deserved the promotion.

"Naruto, Sasuke; always mind your surroundings. Now, this area is practically clean. You two must find your jounin sensei and report to them for future assignments. They are up there, I'll cover you."

Both genin nodded and vanished towards the audience where Asuma, Kakashi, Gai and Kurenai were busy fending off enemies from the Sound village. Upon arriving at the stands, both focused chakra to their feet for extra burst. Sasuke looked at Naruto surprised that he was doing exactly like the Uchiha and even keeping up with the speed. His chakra no myaku technique allowed Naruto to hear and see all chakra related occurrences. While the amount of chakra wasn't the same, Naruto was able to reproduce the technique in a similar fashion. They had arrived near their jounins in less than a minute. Kakashi had just managed to create a distance between his opponent. Kurenai as well and both were already moving for the killing strike when two kunai appeared from their opponent's backs and were lodged in the enemies' cervix. Both were killed instantly, surprising the jounin for a moment before both their charges appeared by the down opponent's sides.

"Naruto, Sasuke…" Kakashi acknowledged their presence before Kurenai could and immediately assessed the situation.

He was able to see them faring well against a considerable opposition at the arena and was glad to see them working together so fluently.

Blood was plainly visible on their clothes, but from their posture, it was clear that it didn't belong to either one but the enemy's. Kurenai saw the same thing and sighed in relief, before moving on to assist Asuma who was busy with two chunnin from Sound. Kakashi moved closer to the genin as they battled a group of Suna chunnin together, before Kakashi had any breathing time to issue orders. He saw Naruto doing hand seals, before slamming both hands on the ground as a new group of enemies appeared. A thousand needles appeared from the ground and headed with great speed towards the enemy. Some managed to deflect the needles, but others weren't so lucky. Those that were lucky and escaped from Naruto's attack had to also deflect Sasuke's fireball. If Konoha was in any other situation, Kakashi would give them congratulations, but it was not the time.

"Naruto, Sasuke…I'm issuing you two an A-ranked mission." Obviously, both teens were interested immediately. "Your peers were assigned previously with guarding the hospital but I fear that that place will be targeted the most by the enemy. You are to go there and help secure the perimeter. Once the hospital is safe, you are to move on to the academy. Both the hospital and the academy will be targeted by the invasion force. After that, if you do not encounter another jounin afterward, come and find me here. Now go!" Naruto and Sasuke vanished instantly from their position, allowing Kakashi some time to converse with his peers regarding the situation at hand.

"Do you think it was wise in sending them alone? What if they bump into a jounin?" Asuma was the one who asked.

Kurenai looked a bit troubled by it, but then she remembered how Naruto faired against her, Anko and Yuugao's training. There was no doubt that Naruto could handle himself. Her only worry was Sasuke.

"If you saw how well they handled the enemies at the arena, you wouldn't be asking me this question." Kurenai smirked in pride at her student and went up to see the entire village, followed by Asuma. Gai had just given Kakashi a thumbs up, before looking at the purple barrier where the Hokage was busy facing Orochimaru. Kakashi was looking as well and wondering why the Anbu were doing nothing but standing there.

* * *

**===With Naruto and Sasuke===**

Naruto and Sasuke were charging towards the hospital as per Kakashi's orders. So far, they managed to face off against two sound chunnin. Sasuke was the one who moved first, anticipating their movements with his fully evolved sharingan. He hit one in the chest and moved on to the other, knowing that Naruto would fall in and debilitate him, before moving for the kill. The second put on a difficult fight and forced Sasuke to use chakra to augment his taijutsu abilities. Still his opponent was fast. He was surprised when a kunai travelled at amazing speed and precision towards the man's jugular, slicing it clean. The Uchiha was filled with the sound chunnin's blood. He looked at his partner in crime and frowned. He knew Naruto to be good but even he with his sharingan active couldn't make the shot. Something in Naruto, Sasuke acknowledged, was different. He was certainly more powerful and much more skilled than before.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, seeing that Sasuke was throwing glances at him as they moved through the rooftops.

"You've gotten stronger since we last fought together." Naruto smirked and answered with a nod. Sasuke smirked at this. "Good. Now I have to work twice as hard and surpass you."

"I wouldn't expect any less from you as well, Sasuke. Now let's deal with these assholes and reach the hospital as soon as possible. One more thing I must do beforehand." Naruto said surprising Sasuke as he bit his finger and performed a strange series of hand seals, before slamming both hands on top of a rooftop. Sasuke saw a bunch of kanji written around Naruto's hands, before smoke surrounded him. In front of them, now appeared a new entity. It looked like a seven foot tall fully brown gorilla with identical scars on each arm. It was wearing a metallic chest armor that covered both its chest and its stomach. Sasuke could also see a metallic bo-staff strapped to the gorilla's back. Looking back to his blond rival, Sasuke figured it was some sort of family heirloom, seeing as the Hokage was the one who possessed the scroll for monkeys.

"**Why did you call me Naruto?" **The blond sensed his summon's tone and smirked in amusement. He was obviously not happy. In fact, Naruto had yet to see his summon Sarubo demonstrate other emotions aside from boredom and plain irritation. The memory of signing the monkey scroll was still fresh in his mind since it happened almost a week ago.

* * *

_Flashback on_

_After Naruto's training for the chunnin exams was done, he was seen in the garden practicing the new moves he had learned from Yuugao-sensei. He was tasked with some relaxation and recuperation for the exams, but it actually took two days sleeping fully to recharge his batteries. He was practicing when he saw his grandfather walking towards him with a smile on his face. Naruto stopped the workout before turning to address his grandfather. _

"_Evening there Naruto-kun. I can see you are well rested after the training your sensei has put you through." Naruto nodded and placed his sword inside its scabbard._

"_I've taken a long nap, Jiji, two entire days. I'm well rested for the finals." Sarutobi smiled and approached his grandson, before placing his hand on Naruto's right shoulder. _

"_I want you to know how proud I am Naruto-kun of your achievement and growth. Therefore, I've been consulting with Enma and he's allowed you to sign the contract of the monkey clan." Naruto was really shocked at this revelation. Signing the monkey clan was considered a great honor and very few members of the Sarutobi family were allowed to sign. While the monkey clan was a summoning contract just like any other animal, it had its differences. For instance, the summoner was to be paired with his or her familiar summon, only being allowed to summon the familiar. That's why Enma, the Monkey King, had been reluctant to allow just any Sarutobi clan member to sign the contract. Just signing the contract alone isn't enough. The chosen familiar must accept the summoner as well._

"_You really believe I'm ready, Jiji?" Hiruzen smirked at the clearly excited genin. _

"_Yes, I do." Hiruzen said before going through the hand signs and slamming his hands on the ground. _

_Through the smoke, Enma, the monkey king, appeared along with another one just as tall by his side. It was Sarubo. _

"_**Yo brat, long time no see huh? How have you been?" **__It was no secret that the Monkey King and Naruto have met before as the king of summons wanted to meet him. _

"_I'm fine Enma-sama and you?" _

"_**Good…good. Now, I believe old Sarutobi here has explained you why I'm here, so I'll skip the explanation part. Here is the contract for you to sign and next to me is my eldest son Sarubo." **__Enma handled the contract for Naruto to sign. The blond realized that this Sarubo was watching him with his mouth shut. As he signed the contract with blood, Naruto could tell from Sarubo that he possessed high chakra capacity and was extremely stiff in his posture…just like his father. As he returned the signed contract to Enma, Naruto turned to face the ground waiting for his new familiar's acceptance of him. Without it, simply signing the contract wouldn't mean anything. In fact, a great number of Sarutobi members never got to summon monkey, because of the chosen familiar's opinion alone. Enma trusted his family's opinion more than anything…even more than the Hokage's word. _

_Enma turned to look at his eldest son and saw a brief smile appearing on his face, before vanishing entirely. His eldest son was more like a warrior than a shinobi, so he appreciated strong will and resolve more than skill._

"_**So…son…what is your verdict?" **__Sarubo looked briefly at Enma and made a grumpy sound, before looking at Naruto once more. _

"_**He is strong and skilled for one his age, that's for sure. However, I feel great darkness coming from him, so much that unless closely controlled, it could mean trouble to everyone around him. Tell me, kid, I have turned lots of members of your family down because they failed to meet my specifications of how my summoner should behave. What makes you think you're any better?"**__ Hiruzen's expression was pure stone, but he feared that Naruto's meiton skills would work against his image to the Monkey Clan. Enma also kept his fierce gaze on Naruto, expecting a valid answer to his son's question. Sarubo would only choose those worthy and even if the kid had the talent, it wasn't enough. _

_Naruto took some time deliberating about the question, before answering. _

"_I can't speak for others, saying that I'm better than them, Sarubo-san. Ever since I was born, I couldn't use my eyes to see, but I overcame that and became a shinobi. Even so, my disability remained and I worked like crazy to be where I am today. I train hard every second…every minute...every day of my life, hoping to perfect my skills. A normal shinobi trains one hour, I train two in order to cover for my lack of sight. I may not be as strong as my grandfather, my father or my uncle, but I have the drive to reach that high." Naruto meant every word because it was his ninja way. Above talent, a shinobi must have the drive to seek constant improvement every day. _

_Silence reigned for a while as Naruto's soon to be familiar kept its steady gaze on his summoner. In the end, he let out a snort in amusement. _

"_**I like you kid…every time I asked this question, people would either arrogantly defend their abilities or state that I was obligated the accept it. I can see you have the drive and that's enough for me. Skill is something you'll only develop in time and training hard." **__Sarubo smirked some more and turned to his father with a nod. Both the Monkey King and Hiruzen smirked upon seeing a new summoner of the Monkey Clan. Enma was sure that Naruto would reach his grandfather's level in no time. Like his son said, time was all the brat needed to become great. Quickly opening the contract, Enma placed a drop of his blood as well as Sarubo, before the monkey king performed the rest of the ritual, bonding his son with Naruto for life. _

"_**Seeing as my son accepted his summoner, I, Enma, King of the Monkey Clan, declare Sarutobi Naruto as one of the Summoners of the Monkey Clan."**_

* * *

_Flashback off_

Since Naruto became the summoner of the Monkey Clan, he had challenged Sarubo for a spar twice. Of course, he lost. But he was content in the fact that Sarubo acknowledged his strength enough to make the gorilla sweat a bit. Now, it was the first time summoner and familiar would fight side by side and Naruto was really excited about it. He looked at the over sized gorilla in front of him and picked his sword once more.

"Sarubo-san, the village is being invaded by Sand and Sound Village's joint forces. We need your help in securing both the hospital and the academy." Naruto knew that Sarubo loved the thrill of a fight and he could attest from the spike in its chakra, that his partner was itching to grab his bo-staff. True to his expectations, Sarubo smirked and took his black metallic bo-staff from his back. The familiar, for his part, looked at his summoner and smirked. Naruto too was jumping for action.

"**What are we waiting for, then? Let's move." **Both genin nodded, before vanishing towards the hospital.

Sasuke was looking at the summon, wondering how strong was the over seized gorilla when a sand chunnin appeared in front of them. Sarubo charged at the man with unreal speed, before smashing his bo-staff on the enemy's chest. Even if Sasuke had heard the sound of ribs breaking, because of Naruto's sword, he was caught off guard by the sound of the gorilla's strike. Naruto smirked at that, knowing just how many ribs were broken by a single attack. Naruto remembered being of the receiving end of Sarubo's staff and it wasn't for him evading the attack and Kyuubi healing him, his ninja career would have a premature end. The now three man team charged towards the hospital's direction. They could already see the building from their position when Sarubo dodged to the left and Naruto moved Sasuke out of the way all of a sudden. Before the Uchiha had the time to ask what happened, a jet of water charged with lightning reached the position where the Konoha team would have been. Naruto's technique allowed him to see the technique from his behind, saving Sasuke. In front of the trio, a team of four sound-nin appeared posing to strike.

Sasuke saw the quick hand signs that Naruto was performing and started gathering chakra to his lungs in preparation.

When the enemy became disoriented, out of the blue, Sasuke performed the hand signs for his housenka no jutsu. Medium sized fireballs were aimed directly at the enemies' faces just as Naruto released the genjutsu on them all. Ironically, the image implanted by the genin was of them catching on fire. Their screams in agony served only as a fuel for Naruto's chakra. Sarubo was the one who put them all out of their misery by breaking their spinal cord with brutal efficiency. The gorilla warrior wasn't that interested in subtle tactics used by shinobi, opting for the easy approach of facing head to head. Thus, it was one attribute he wasn't particularly thrilled to see in his summoner as they travelled once more towards the hospital.

"**We could have taken care of them without using those illusions of yours." **Sasuke could tell that the gorilla didn't fancy the art of genjutsu, by the tone in which Sarubo spoke the word 'illusions'.

"Yes, we could Sarubo. However, while you have the strength to beat them head on, I and Sasuke must avoid direct fight at all costs until our mission is complete. Don't worry, though, the hospital is up ahead and I can see that the chunnin there are having difficulty securing it. I have a plan if both of you are interested in hearing it." Sasuke and Sarubo nodded, allowing a smirk in Naruto's face. He didn't know he had such trust from his rival and his summon. "Sarubo here can use suiton ninjutsu and both I and Sasuke are able to use lightning. There is a group of enemies that are able to push it through our defenses. We'll target them from behind with a coordinated ninjutsu started by Sarubo. Sasuke and I will provide the lightning technique. Once the enemy is distracted, the chunnin will seek an advantage. When this happens, we'll split and deal with them all."

By the pleased look on both Sasuke and Sarubo's faces, they had agreed with the plan.

Soon after they jumped on the last rooftop before the hospital, the noise of a fierce battle reached them. Sarubo began the series of hand seals while Sasuke and Naruto prepared their own.

_Suiton Taihoudan (Water Release: Large Projectile Technique)_

_Raiton Kangekiha (Lightning Release: Inspiration Wave Technique)_

Sarubo almost inflated its body as he gathered enough water for a very powerful technique. The blast of water came out of his mouth and soon Naruto and Sasuke finished their own technique, unleashing two streams of lightning together with the jet of water. Naruto's lightning color was a darker blue, bearing on purple while Sasuke's was a light blue. When the enemies were aware of what was going on, they were immediately assaulted head on. A few of them managed to escape the full impact, but some weren't so lucky. As expected, the chunnin that was guarding the hospital took full advantage of the situation and charged against the enemy. They now had the advantage in numbers. Naruto even managed to take two sound genin with his sword, before a chunnin came and slashed their throats clean. The entire fight took close to two minutes, before the enemy around the hospital was dealt with. The jounin in charge of the operation approached both Sasuke and Naruto. He wore the standard jounin attire and had spiked black hair.

He was also wearing sunglasses.

"We appreciate the help. What are your names and who was the one that sent you here?" The jounin known as Aoba addressed the two genin. Sasuke this time started talking.

"Uchiha Sasuke and Sarutobi Naruto; we were sent here by our sensei Hatake Kakashi and Kurenai Yuhii to help protect the hospital and the academy." Naruto knew the man was staring at him for longer than necessary, but simply ignored. Now was simply not the time to deal with this. Aoba cleared his throat a bit and appreciated it once more, before releasing them with the duty of securing the hospital's perimeter. Aoba had already asked for support and a new team of chunnin was on the way to help establish a protection perimeter. Sasuke nodded and charged towards the academy followed by Sarubo and Naruto. The gorilla knew about his summoner's status as a jinchuuriki and thus he was briefed by his father on the level of hatred displayed by the village towards Naruto because of it. It wasn't right for him to embrace the village's hatred like this. However, the boy was still here defending the village, even after what everyone did against him. Sarubo was right in accepting the kid as his summoner.

The route towards the academy was surprisingly clean of opposition and it didn't take long for the team to reach the destination.

When they appeared, Umino Iruka was the one who greeted them, but not before parrying a kunai from a sand-nin. Sarubo charged and slammed his staff on the enemy's back, sending him to the ground instantly. The academy chunnin was surprised to see a monkey summon before his eyes laid on Naruto. He remembered the boy as a member of the Sarutobi Clan. He also saw Uchiha Sasuke and saw the fully evolved sharingan on his eyes. Sarubo moved on to face opposition on his own, leaving Sasuke and Naruto alone. Sasuke's sharingan was quick in counting the enemy's number and the number of shinobi defending the academy as well as the academy students that were inside the classroom.

"Naruto, the enemies are twenty total and we have only five chunnin guarding the place. They have a four to one advantage."

Naruto nodded and formed a specific hand seal, before slamming both hands on the ground.

_Meiton Taijuu Gaikotsu Bunshin (Dark Release: Multiple Skeleton Bunshin Technique)_

From the ground, five bone clones erupted and charged against the enemy, while Naruto and Sasuke stood fighting a couple of sound chunnin; skilled ones that threw shuriken at Naruto, forcing him to evade them. The enemies took the opportunity and paired up against Sasuke who managed to parry a kunai strike to his stomach, but wasn't fast enough to stop another kunai from drawing blood from his right arm. Sasuke's pain clouded him for a moment, allowing the second chunnin to move for the kill. Naruto saw it and realized that he had a few seconds left to save Sasuke. Performing hand seals in a blur of speed, like Anko had taught him, he slammed both hands on the ground the same time the enemy moved to strike Sasuke with a kunai through his heart.

_Meiton Kuro Senbon (Dark Release: Dark Needle Technique) _

Naruto's fastest technique managed to fill the enemy with needles before he had the time to kill Sasuke. When the Uchiha opened his eyes, he was shocked to see kunai just inches from his chest and a man filled with needles, dead. The man's partner moved to assist, but this time Sasuke was prepared and threw a kunai at him, lodging it in the enemy's chest. Naruto was by his side immediately and helped him get up. Sasuke could not believe how close to death he was just now, if it wasn't for his rival.

"Thanks…" Naruto smirked at the awkwardness in which Sasuke appreciated him for saving his life. It wasn't in his character to admit that he would be dead otherwise.

"Save it for after the war is over, Sasuke. But it's nice to see you up and running. How would I beat you in our spars if you were dead?" The Uchiha snorted at his rival, before smiling briefly.

"I'm touched at your concern for my well being, Naruto. I am really am." Naruto smirked as he saw his bunshin aiding the chunnin in guarding the academy.

Even if the clone's constitution was much harder than an actual kage bunshin or an elemental bunshin, it didn't mean that they were indestructible. They managed to assist the chunnin in taking down the opposition. It was good that Naruto had Sarubo by his side. If the clones weren't enough to clean up the opposition, than the big brown ape's staff would certainly deal with them. Speaking of the ape, he was having the time of his life inflicting damage on the human weaklings. He kind of wished that they would fight back some more, but he guessed he became too used to Naruto's resilience to pain. Sasuke and Naruto faced a couple more chunnin, but they were able to defeat them without a problem. When the academy was secured, Sasuke fell to the ground in exhaustion. Since the beginning of this invasion, he'd been fighting. He needed a rest.

Naruto was by his side as he saw the chunnin establishing a full perimeter check in order to rid the academy of attacks. He was also tired, but not like Sasuke. He dispelled Sarubo a couple of minutes ago, seeing as their mission was now complete. The blond allowed a few minutes for everything to sink in. Until now, Naruto and Sasuke did nothing but get into confrontations. Some of them were brutal and Sasuke was almost killed because Naruto was caught by surprise. The blind genin saw Iruka approaching both him and Sasuke and nodded in appreciation for the assistance. Iruka acknowledged that Naruto wasn't in any danger, if not a bit winded. He moved on to Sasuke who was breathing hard, demonstrating clear signs of chakra exhaustion and fatigue.

"Do you have a soldier pill with you, Sasuke?" Sasuke nodded in the negative. Iruka kneeled down and helped the Uchiha get up. "Naruto, I have to take Sasuke to the hospital. Were you given additional orders?"

"Kakashi-sensei said that after securing the hospital and the academy, we should report back to him at the chunnin exam stadium; I'm heading there right now." Iruka nodded and took Sasuke away for treatment. Once alone, Naruto realized that he was lacking his usual chakra capacity for a regular fight. Silently asking for a recharge to the fox inside of him, Naruto breathed out in relief as he sensed the fox's energy cursing through his chakra coils, replenishing his lost energy and even giving him a boost. In a few minutes, feeling much better, Naruto began to move once more, taking the way back to the chunnin exam stadium. Now that he was alone, he needed to be careful and use more genjutsu techniques. Now that he thought about it, perhaps it was better to simply cast a disorientation genjutsu around himself so that no one can see him as he reached the stadium.

* * *

**===Around the village===**

When news reached the jounin commander about both the academy and the hospital's safety, Nara Shikaku issued the order to initiate Konoha's plan of defense. It was a rule established together with the Sandaime that in the case of an invasion, before taking care of the enemy, Konoha must first worry about evacuating the civilians and protecting the village's most sensitive buildings. The genin took care of the civilian evacuation while the chunnin helped defend what could be considered vital targets, namely the academy, hospital, weapons' warehouse and the Hokage's Building where all important documents concerning the village are safely guarded.

That's why when the war started; the invasion force wasn't meeting much opposition.

That changed all of a sudden, catching them by surprise and unprepared for such a vicious assault by the village's jounin and Anbu forces. One by one, the enemies were either dealt with or captured for questioning. A couple of snake summons were tough to handle at the gates and by the time Morino Ibiki's force managed to defeat the reptiles, the walls of the village had already suffered substantial damage. Nevertheless, now that the village's full force joined the attack, the invasion force's demise was inevitable.

* * *

**===Battle of the Kages===**

The S-ranked level battle was fierce.

Orochimaru snarled at his situation seeing as without the damn gama-sannin's presence, he would have dealt with the fool Sarutobi. Jiraiya and Hiruzen had excellent teamwork against him with Jiraiya being on the offensive and Hiruzen acting as support. The two sannin were equal in strength and every time Orochimaru tried sneaking from Jiraiya's grasp, the Hokage was there to stop him. It was infuriating. Orochimaru saw Jiraiya coming in with two rasengan in his hands and prepared a mud bunshin in ready for his plan. As soon as the first rasengan was slammed into Orochimaru, Jiraiya saw the smirk on his ex-teammate's face and cursed. He had something on his mind, that's for sure.

Far away from the battle, the snake sannin appeared and performed a kinjutsu, immediately three coffins appeared from the ground. Hiruzen saw this and cursed. He knew what his student was doing. Jiraiya knew as well and focused another twin rasengan on his hands as he charged on two coffins while Hiruzen was focusing his chakra in annulling the third one. The over powered rasengan crashed the wooden coffins, much to Orochimaru's surprise upon seeing the damaged corpses in front of him. For them to be unstoppable, Orochimaru needed to place his seal inside their heads. He looked at the third coffin and saw it sinking back to the ground. Creating some distance, Orochimaru summoned two giant purple snakes and used the summons for cover. He needed a new plan and he needed fast. Inside those coffins, were the bodies of the previous Hokage and he would use them against his sensei.

_**(Author Note: Yeah, no one ever tried destroying the coffins, huh?)**_

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

When Naruto arrived at the stadium once more, he wasn't surprised to find it empty. Gai, Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma are jounin, so they were surely needed elsewhere. Focusing on his surroundings, Naruto looked towards the direction of the high chakra usage and noticed his grandfather and a man with long white hair fighting two gigantic snakes. His technique could also pinpoint another presence inside the chakra dome. Outside the dome, there were located four Anbu by the looks of it. Wasting no time, he went towards the dome and appeared behind one of the Anbu wearing an overcoat. His presence alerted the Anbu as everyone recognized who the kid was.

"I take it this barrier is impenetrable if you guys are just standing there?" Naruto received four nods before one turned to explain.

"One of our own attempted to break in and received four degree burns. We are at a loss of how to disrupt it." Naruto nodded and turned to look at the barrier. His technique could see that the barrier was being fueled by the four individuals with similar clothing, but they were being protected by the barrier, so he couldn't attack them…at least not up front. A smile appeared in his face as he returned to the Anbu that were studying the kid silently. The look on his face told them he had a plan, though.

"From what I was able to gather, this barrier is being maintained by four chakra presences, hence its design. The different chakras are being distributed evenly, so it's my understanding that if we disrupted one of them, the entire barrier would fade, allowing you clearance. I have a way, but you need to call more units for back up." The one Anbu with a different overcoat than the rest was considered the leader and he merely turned to his second in command with a nod, before said Anbu vanished. The leader of the squad turned to the blond genin.

"We'll be ready when you're ready. Do what you have to do."

Naruto nodded and walked a bit further from the Anbu group, before stopping in front of one of the sound ninja that was keeping the barrier active. The person in question happened to be a kunoichi and she was looking at Naruto with an arrogant expression on her face, knowing just what happened to the last stupid Konoha-nin who attempted to cross the barrier. She was a bit concerned, however, when Naruto started making hand seals. The genin's plan was actually simple in theory, but extremely taxing on him. It was one thing when he was on solid ground, when the technique wouldn't need much chakra to perform. They were on top of a building. Naruto even asked for more chakra from the fox for this. After the hand signal was over, Naruto touched both hands on the tiles at the same time as he felt three more squads of Anbu arrive.

A few seconds passed and nothing happened, though.

The Anbu were snarling at the kid for this, but not the leader. The man knew the boy was doing something. Even the sound ninja, who was preoccupied, began to sneer. It all changed when the building they were standing on started to tremble. It started out as a light tremor and was escalating. The noise, after fifteen seconds, became deafening before everyone was shocked at the tendril that appeared behind the shinobi Naruto was in front of. Tayuya, the kunoichi's name, was caught completely by surprise and got caught by the tendril, releasing the constant release of chakra necessary for the barrier to be maintained. As a result, the purple barrier was disrupted. The entire Anbu squad charged inside and immediately captured the rest of the sound four that was busy trying to maintain the barrier even without Tayuya. The kunoichi, for his part, was enraged at this and wanted nothing more than to kill the brat in front of her as well as everyone in front of her.

Activating the cursed seal level two, she was one hundred percent sure she would kill the brat for ruining everything.

"Interesting chakra you have there. Too bad it won't do you any good." Tayuya was about to question the boy's stupidity when she screamed in pain. Her bones were shattered instantly. "These tendrils are special. They are fed of negative energy. If anything, this strange chakra only served to increase its strength." Tayuya's bones and ribs started breaking one by one. She wasn't able to openly curse the boy before her neck was broken, shocking the Anbu that were near the brat. All of them heard stories of their fellow peers that were responsible for protecting the boy against threats, because of what he held inside. It was the first time, though, that they witnessed someone killed by the strange technique.

* * *

**===Battle of the Kages===**

Aside from Hiruzen, the two sannin were surprised by the barrier no longer being active. Orochimaru, most of all, seeing as there was no way his elite would fail him. When three squads of Anbu arrived, he saw no other option left for him and summoned another snake. The creature swallowed its master and vanished in thin air. The Anbu were about to attack the sannin before turning to see the Hokage for orders. The plan was successful and the invasion force was defeated. The Hokage smirked upon seeing how Naruto managed to disrupt the barrier. Now that the invasion was done with, Hiruzen was allowed to a nice relaxation period. One thing he was absolute sure of was that without Jiraiya's presence, Hiruzen would have a very hard time defeating his ex-student. It was inevitable, he realized, to suffer the sins of time and lose the strength he had twenty years ago.

'_Perhaps it is now time to choose my successor once more.' _

Hiruzen thought as he slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep right there in the middle of the battlefield, confident that his shinobi would take care of the situation now.

* * *

**Author Note**

And there you have it, folks.

The end of the invasion and how Naruto and Sasuke's combined teamwork assisted the village against the joint forces of Sunagakure and Otogakure. At first, I considered mentioning a scene with Anko, because of her increased participation in the story, but I just couldn't find one. Don't worry, though, Anko fans, next chapter she will appear. Next chapter, it will be the consequences of the invasion as well and Hiruzen's choice for his next in line for Godaime Hokage.

Best regards everyone.


	16. A bright future ahead

**Author Note**

Hello there gang and welcome to another chapter of Meshii.

**Spoiler Discussions…**

Does anyone understand just what the hell is going on in Canon? Okay, first we learn that Obito wasn't actually killed in the battle against Iwagakure and is actually the one behind the orange mask guy named Tobi. He was trapped in a type of limbo where Uchiha Madara, the real Madara, happens to be located. He is incredibly old and can't even get out of his chair that happened to be linked with the Gedo Mazo statue. Zetsu happens to be a sort of Madara's creation and is now aiding Tobi in overcoming his body's weakness. However, it seems that Kishimoto was forced into a corner of sorts and didn't know how to link the events according to the usual time table. Okay, Obito is alive and all that. So it was him who faced the Yondaime Hokage and summoned the Kyuubi no Yoko to attack Konoha. Also, it was him who manipulated Yahiko into creating the Akatsuki.

It's precisely here that the math doesn't add up.

Yahiko, Nagato and Konan were youngsters when the Sannin battled against Hanzou the Salamander in the Second Great Ninja War. If I were to venture a guess, I'd say they were the same age as Minato and Kushina. That means that Obito was merely an infant or perhaps not even born at the time. Unless Kishimoto comes up with the idea of time travel, pretty much half of the events said to be 'manipulated' by Obito wasn't true at all and Obito twisted the truth to mess with people's minds (the fans most likely). Now, what a shock it was to learn that Rin was killed by Kakashi's Chidori, huh? I'm not convinced, though. We all remember that right after releasing the mask, Obito explained that Kakashi 'let' Rin die, instead of saying that he killed her. Just when it appeared that Kishimoto was supplying answers to the old questions, he comes up with new questions. Damn it, now I have to wait another week now like usual!

Okay now enough with that.

The answer will come up eventually, even if it won't be a good one. Now let's shift to the story Meshii's last events. Last chapters, Naruto managed to defeat Hyuuga Neji rather easily after receiving extensive training from three jounin level kunoichi. Uchiha Sasuke managed to defeat Sabaku no Gaara, ruining Suna and Sound's plans without even knowing it. Because of this, the invasion was dealt with much more smoothly without the repercussions of a tailed beast demon leveling the village. Also, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke weren't needed elsewhere and managed to take care of their fair share of enemies. Naruto even managed to save the Sandaime Hokage by killing one of Orochimaru's elites Tayuya with his meiton technique. I've received a positive feedback on the method used by Naruto to kill Tayuya. Personally, I believe that this power is the exact weakness of the cursed seal and will be exploited in the future.

Now people must be wondering what will happen afterward, huh?

Well, so do I…here is the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 16 – A bright future ahead**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

Two days after the invasion, Konoha was still busy dealing with the aftermath.

The consequences were bad. However, given the circumstances, it could have been worse and every shinobi in Konoha was grateful for it. One small change in the events and the village wouldn't be standing today. It was the shinobi's life really. No matter how experienced one is in the shinobi arts, the human body is and forever will be vulnerable. No one was more grateful than the Sandaime Hokage as he managed to escape alive from his fight against Orochimaru and thus was still leading his village through yet another bad part of history. The old and experienced shinobi snorted at the truth while being amazed by the irony of it all. Whoever thought that the actions of a genin would help save both a Kage and a Sannin.

Despite having the advantage in numbers, Hiruzen's efforts were starting to take its toll on his chakra supply. If his grandson hadn't intervened back then, the Hokage feared he wouldn't last much longer.

Naruto's promotion to the rank of chunnin was inevitable, he smiled. Not because of his efforts in stopping his fair share of enemies in the invasion, but also for his commendable fight against the Hyuuga kid. He was impressed with his grandson's increased speed and power. The ninjutsu part was already his before his training with Kurenai, Yuugao and Anko. The kid had kenjutsu training from Yuugao; taijutsu, evasion and agility lessons with Anko and genjutsu lessons with his jounin sensei Kurenai. Being a practitioner of all three shinobi arts, including kenjutsu, the boy was all set to become one of the village's elites in the near future. The best thing of all this is that not once did Naruto use or even count on the fox's chakra inside of him. His power came from him and him alone. The fox's chakra supply was only an added bonus to his already large chakra reserves. All in all, Sarutobi was proud to give his grandson the traditional chunnin vest.

His grandson wasn't the only genin, however, that displayed high level skills eligible for the promotion. Uchiha Sasuke was highly applauded by everyone seeing as he managed to defeat a jinchuuriki, even if the latter wasn't using the bijuu's power in the fight. The sharingan was Sasuke's advantage as, like Naruto, he had all three forms of shinobi arts covered, not to mention the skill in two elemental ninjutsu. Most chunnin were happy to have one element, let alone two. Another point for both was the level of teamwork displayed against the opposition force. The will of fire was greatly present in these two. Unfortunately, for the rest chunnin applicants, the invasion occurred right after Sasuke's fight so, despite their brilliant display in the invasion, none of them had much to show for the judges. Nevertheless, Hiruzen ventured a guess that at least three others would be promoted on the next exam. Neji Hyuuga, Aburame Shino and Nara Shikamaru are splendid shinobi in their own right.

The next and last item of Hiruzen's agenda was also the most important one and it required a lot of consideration. He supposed that it was quite fitting to leave this item for last as he got up and looked at the village from his window.

He could feel the burden of the invasion as he looked at the villagers below walking around carrying a heavy atmosphere. Sarutobi couldn't blame them. The wounds have yet to heal, but he was confident that the will of fire present in all of Konoha's citizens, shinobi or not, will prevail in such dark times. Now it was a matter of finding a new successor yet again to lead this village through these events. He considered a couple names in his mind, but before that, he had to realize that none of them were even close to the Yondaime Hokage. True, these names have the strength and skill to become a kage level shinobi. However, Namikaze Minato was a born leader, the type that was only mirrored by the past kages. The names, Jiraiya and Tsunade, had sins of their own to carry and neither of them spent so much as a week inside the village. Tsunade, for instance, hasn't been inside Konoha for almost twenty years now for that matter. Hiruzen wished that the next generation were a bit older. Yakumo's son Kakashi was a viable candidate but his weakness was a lack of experience.

If only he was five years older, then Hiruzen's choice would be much easier.

As such, it was between his students, Jiraiya and Tsunade. The first one, while a viable candidate, was now more useful to Konoha outside as he managed to create a spy network that helped save many Konoha shinobi up to now. For Hiruzen to give Jiraiya the seat, he would need to pass on the spy network to another shinobi and unfortunately, Jiraiya's last student was the Yondaime Hokage. Right now, Hiruzen couldn't picture anyone worthy of his student's confidence. Aside from that, Jiraiya was a much more viable choice than Tsunade. She had everything for the position, though Hiruzen lamented. Aside from her skills as one of the sannin, she is the granddaughter of the Shodaime Hokage and only survivor of the once mighty Senju Clan. Even if Hiruzen were to pick her though, he paled at the effort to simply convince her to consider the position after the loss of both her kid brother Nawaki and her lover Dan. To this day, she blames Konoha for it and Hiruzen didn't have the heart to convince her otherwise. The sky was getting dark out there and Hiruzen stopped thinking for a while, only to take his time and marvel at the moon's beauty.

"It seems you're at an impasse, Sarutobi-sensei." Hiruzen smirked at his student's comment as Jiraiya walked inside through the window.

"You must know me too well, Jiraiya-kun. I am indeed having trouble deciding what or rather who to choose." Hiruzen turned from the window and saw his student suddenly looking serious. The Gama Sannin is known for his detached behavior from time to time, but the man knew when he was facing a serious situation. "As you might have presumed, I have decided to step down from the Hokage position. The fight with Orochimaru proved that I no longer have the strength necessary to protect the village. In fact, it's been thirteen years since I first stepped down for Minato-kun. As such, I could only think of two other individuals in this village that could replace me and become the Godaime Hokage, you and Tsunade." As expected, the perverted sannin snorted at his name being considered.

"I'm not cut out for the job, sensei, you know that. Plus, I have the spy network to run, whose going to take over once I'm trapped behind the desk. I'm sure Tsunade is a better choice."

"Given both backgrounds, I'd say that Tsunade's only advantage is her lineage. Aside from that, I don't see how she would be a better Hokage than you. As to your spy network, we simply need to find a suitable shinobi to replace you out there." Jiraiya was silent at his sensei's opinion. Hiruzen sighed and ready his tobacco pipe to relax. "If she can't let go of her hatred for Konoha, how do you think she will ever have the qualifications necessary to lead this village? Besides, I'm not saying I have to step down this very instant. I may be old, but I still have fighting blood running in my veins. You'd have enough time to train your successor as leader of your spy network. I would be with you every step of the way tutoring you." Hiruzen could see that his student was considering the idea of taking the job. Jiraiya was silent and his eyes were void of focus. Right now, the pervert wasn't inside the office talking with his sensei, but rather he was imagining himself doing what Hiruzen used to do.

Finally, Jiraiya released a long and heavy sigh. Hiruzen didn't act up, since that could mean either way.

"Fine, I'll take the job sensei." Hiruzen smirked at that and got up, before placing a comforting hand on his student's shoulder.

"You have made the right decision Jiraiya-kun and I'll be with you through every step of the way. Only thing left is for us to find you a suitable successor as well. Do you have anyone in mind?" Jiraiya nodded as he wanted to take said person out of the village to train him anyway; might as well introduce him to his spies now. The kid was strong for his age, but he needed more than that if he ever hoped to stop this new organization named Akatsuki from capturing him.

"I believe I do."

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

Oblivious to his soon to be promotion, Sarutobi Naruto was now seen having some lunch with his old sensei Tonbo.

They were at the ramen stand as usual, focusing straight forward but neither of them really needed to look at the other, since they couldn't see anyway, at least not with their eyes. Since the invasion, the only type of mission assigned to genin was assisting Konoha in whatever the village needed. That being said, Naruto had returned to the usual D-ranked assignments that consisted mainly with cleaning and assisting others. The cleaning part revolved around collecting the dead, either friend or foe, that were killed two days ago. While others considered the job inhumane, at least Naruto preferred over having to deal with disgruntled civilians and even retired shinobi. He had to abandon one mission, because an old woman was constantly at his side accusing him of this mess. As if everything wrong in Konoha was his fault.

Luckily a jounin that was close by had the decency to relieve the kid from his duty. It wouldn't bode well for the guy to see a dark tendril rip the old lady to shreds.

As soon as he was done cleaning up a restaurant with a couple chunnin, he had met Tonbo and he asked Naruto if he wanted some lunch.

"I heard that you contributed a lot in the war, Naruto-kun. Rumors out there are saying that if it wasn't for you, Hokage-sama wouldn't be alive now." Naruto smiled at his first sensei, slightly beaming at being acknowledged.

"Thanks Tonbo-sensei. I actually didn't know that my technique would have such a result on the enemy. At one time, she was releasing this dark purple chakra. I could feel the power of my technique doubling. It was strange. The strangest thing, though, was that she was my first kill." Tonbo was drinking some tea when he heard this and looked at his student, while studying his reactions as well as heart beat. It was surprisingly calm for his first kill, even if steps were taken to keep Naruto from killing everyone that attacked him. First was the Anbu that would constantly free Naruto's opposition club from being ripped to shreds by his tendrils. The other idea was give the boy his reverse blade kodachi. With it, he was able to break every bone in a person's body, but it was much harder to kill.

"How are you feeling over killing for the first time?" Tonbo asked, though he dreaded the answer. His student's dark aura was dominant in that regard. At least, the boy is keeping it under control. For some reason, though, Naruto didn't feel the need to say that Tayuya wasn't his first kill.

"I felt good up until the part where she died, I won't lie. Her chakra, her fear upon seeing that she couldn't escape was giving me such a power boost. However, when she was dead, the feeling stopped." Tonbo said nothing to that and just took another sip of his tea. It appeared that his and the Hokage's suspicions were well founded. That was precisely Hiruzen's fear that his grandson would eventually enjoy killing. He supposed it was futile to condemn the boy hoping to correct him on the right path. Tonbo was no alien to the existence of those similar to Naruto and still a loyal Konoha shinobi. Usually, those are the ones that are sent on assassination missions as well as missions better described as the opposite of helping damsels in distress.

"I see. I also saw great things from your chunnin exam. I believe you have earned the promotion." Naruto smiled at that, because he knew his sensei didn't like hearing about his dark side.

"Well, I didn't get to show much. The invasion started right after Sasuke's fight. Though I believe I managed to show enough for the promotion. I had extensive training before the exams. I can only thank them for it." As if on cue, the focus of his gratitude was approaching the ramen stand. Mitarashi Anko had seen a strange sight of her neighbor having lunch with her charge for the Chunnin Exams. It was kind of funny to see the two looking straight forward as if they were ignoring the other's presence. When she heard what Naruto said about his performance in the exams being due to his training before the finals, she smirked and approached the two blind shinobi. Before she could do anything, though, she heard them both greeting her still facing forward.

"Hi Anko-sensei/Hello Anko." The woman pouted at being caught. It was impossible to catch these two off guard. They used chakra to orient their sight and Anko needed a genjutsu to get around it.

But in doing so, they would see the chakra being cast before the technique was casted and she was no Kurenai or even had the sharingan as she knew was able to cast illusions by merely looking at the person.

"So here was I minding my own business when I see my favorite blind shinobis having lunch together, so I decided to pay a visit." Tonbo knew that they were the only blind shinobi in all of Konoha, but said nothing. Somehow, he knew that Anko's focus wasn't on him, but his student instead. His theory was proven correct when the woman simply lashed out and hugged the boy with her left arm with a huge smile on her face. He thought that Naruto would retaliate instantly, however…

"Anko-sensei, could you please release your hold on my neck. It's getting hard to breathe." The woman looked at Naruto and quickly apologized as she saw his face becoming blue with the lack of air.

"Sorry about that, I was just excited since I remembered that pompous Hyuuga kid's ass being kicked. I guess all that training with the girls helped you huh?" Tonbo opened his mouth to ask, but then remembered that Naruto had mentioned that he was thankful for _their _training. Well, so Anko was involved in the kid's training for the Chunnin Exams. That was rich coming from the sadist tokubetsu jounin. After all those times putting up with her constant teasing, he was finally able to get some payback.

"It's really hard to imagine anyone even wanting to train with you, Anko. Only someone as sadistic as you are, perhaps?" This woman smirked at the jab and hugged Naruto once more with her arm.

"Yep, this little guy right here managed to take all I was able to throw at him and even asked for some more. I guess you're right; Naruto-kun here is more sadistic than I am. I remember one time when the gaki had lost almost all his chakra and stamina and still faced one of my summons head on. We had a lot of fun together, didn't we Naruto-kun?" Tonbo saw something interesting in these two. He could definitely see the resemblance in tastes, but he also saw that Naruto wasn't complaining as much as Tonbo thought he would.

"I'm surprised that Naruto here is so at ease around you, Anko. Normally, he would retaliate." A snort came from the blond genin.

"The more I retaliated during our training, the more she increased her pace and strikes. After thirty consecutive days, I kind of got used to it. I get a feeling that she always expects me to retaliate, though." Her smirk was Tonbo's answer to Naruto's theory. "Anyway, I must be going now. I have to meet my parents for some chores inside the Sarutobi Compound that got trashed during the invasion." Naruto left some money for his part of the bill, before going away. Anko was busy looking at his back while Tonbo kept drinking his tea. He once more found it interesting that Anko was smirking while staring at his ex-student's back. She was grinning even more as she remembered what happened to the sound kunoichi that was victim of Naruto's black tendrils.

"You're showing that weird face once more Anko. Quite frankly, I'm a bit afraid of what you're thinking now."

"Oh I just remembered some rumors of how the gaki managed to save Hokage-sama. He had used the same technique on me, but I was never caught in it. Do you imagine how he would fair working under Ibiki in the Torture and Interrogation Department. I can already hear the scumbags screaming for their lives as Naruto's tendrils work their magic. Ohhhhh imagine the possibilities…" Tonbo couldn't help but shiver at the thought. Who would have thought that there was another sadistic person aside from Anko in Konoha? Ibiki was also, but he preferred his mind games rather than physical torture. Leaving the two jounins, Naruto walked calmly towards the Sarutobi Compound, while observing the peculiar treatment by those around him. He could see confused stares directed at him, but for unknown reasons. The entire population always saw the kid as nothing more than the very fox he keeps at bay. As such, the population started to send hateful glares at him, somehow confident that the Kyuubi reincarnated, as they perceived Naruto as, preferred to ignore it rather than skin their flesh and eat them alive.

Then, the rumors started to spread.

How the boy managed to deal with Konoha's enemies during the invasion; how it was through his actions that the Sandaime Hokage is among the living. It wouldn't come as a surprise to any of the population, both shinobi and civilian, if the boy simply switched sides and attacked the village instead of protecting it. But the opposite occurred and now they were confused as hell. There were still some conspiracy theories that the Kyuubi was just tricking them into believing he was harmless, only for Naruto to attack when their guard is low. However, this seems to be the minority's thinking. Wasn't the fox supposed to destroy them all? Wasn't the fox supposed to finish what it started if it wasn't for the Yondaime Hokage? Naruto could hear these questions as mere murmurs used in conversations around the street. He pretended not to hear them as he walked by. He couldn't help but snort at what he was hearing. He also heard the fox laughing his ass off inside the seal. It was indeed quite funny how easily the population changed their minds about a specific subject.

Two years ago, Naruto was treated worse than the plague. People just took advantage of his presence, using him as a scapegoat for their pain over losing their precious ones to the very being that's inside of him.

However, it doesn't take long for logic to appear and start questioning their actions since Naruto's birth. If he was the fox then why would he protect the village instead of destroying it? If their blind hatred had merit, they wouldn't be among the living anymore. The fact that the population is mostly alive, save from a few that were killed in the invasion, proves that their behavior was uncalled for. Naruto was now imagining what's going on in their minds now. If he wasn't the Kyuubi, then why did I blame him for my loved one's death all this time? The Kyuubi is an evil entity capable of nothing but carnage and destruction, but Naruto hadn't lifted a finger against anyone unless someone provoked him first. Such confusion was present in all their faces and Naruto couldn't help but wonder how people will cope with the truth now that's out there. If their source of hatred isn't there anymore, does the pain go away? Or does the pain still lingers but they can't blame the kid anymore for what happened?

With no one left to blame, but the beast itself, was it now time to personally deal with the loss and get over it? It's not that easy, isn't it?

As Naruto entered the land owned by the Sarutobi Clan, he found he couldn't care less about the situation. If anyone dared to attack him he would retaliate, no questions asked. Expanding his chakra, Naruto changed course to the direction where his father and a couple of other members were busy cleaning a warehouse, still unaware of the plans concerning his future being considered by two highly skilled shinobi in the Hokage's office.

* * *

**===In the Hokage's Office===**

"Do you believe him capable of replacing you out there?" Hiruzen couldn't help but ask. Even if he was proud of his grandson for being considered by Jiraiya for the position, he still felt obliged to look at it from a professional point of view. "According to your info, this Akatsuki organization you mentioned is out there capturing the jinchuuriki. Is it a wise decision to leave Naruto alone out there?" Jiraiya nodded at his sensei's concern, though Jiraiya believed in the kid's abilities.

"He has the ability of using chakra that allows him to spot the opposition a mile away. Also, we can simply reverse summon him any time, because of the Monkey Summoning Contract. I'll also teach the brat all my skills in avoiding detection. He also is quite skilled in genjutsu, so he can use it to camouflage his location." Hiruzen wasn't convinced thus far, but Jiraiya knew that Naruto had another valuable skill that can and will aid both him and Konoha in the future. "Last but not least, sensei, the kid is a living lie detector without having the sharingan or the byakugan. My spies aren't always speaking the truth to me and the enemy isn't going to spill the truth right away. With training, the kid can be quite the legend in the future."

Hiruzen thought long and hard for a moment.

"At the very least, he will be with you throughout his training, so it can't help but prepare him for the job. By the time you receive the hat, I'll be checking his skills personally and if he passes my test, he will receive the promotion to Tokubetsu Jounin in interrogation and information gathering. He won't have the experience of a full-fledged jounin for a while, but that won't take long anyway. It will be my last act as Hokage." Jiraiya nodded with a smile on his face, but paled once his sensei looked at him with his eyebrow narrowed. "One last thing, Jiraiya…don't you dare die like poor Minato-kun did. I don't have the energy anymore to replace a dead Hokage for the third time." Jiraiya blinked for a while, before smirking at the Kami no Shinobi.

* * *

**(AN: Taking over for the Nidaime was his first; Minato was his second time)**

* * *

"You know full well I can't make any promises, sensei. It's our duty to sacrifice our lives for the village, right?" Hiruzen frowned for a while, but smiled at his student.

"If you do, don't count on me. I'm still due to enjoy a nice retirement before I die." They shared a warm laugh together, before Jiraiya bid his sensei goodbye for the night.

* * *

**===The next day===**

Naruto and Sasuke were seen the next day heading for a place for lunch as they discussed the events thus far.

Both of them were wearing their new chunnin vest and Naruto even received the news of being the next leader of Konoha's spy network as the current one was scheduled to take the hokage's mantle soon. Naruto wasn't against the idea and the job required his absence from the village for longer periods of time. He was scheduled to leave the village in two days time to be introduced to the spies together with the sannin. He would be receiving exclusive training from the legend, so it was only a plus for him. Uchiha Sasuke was slightly jealous of his rival, but he figured that the plans for him weren't that bad. Apparently, the Anbu has manifested their interest in having Sasuke in their midst just like with Itachi a long time ago. Sasuke was against following in his brother's footsteps, but only a fool would waste such an opportunity. He would also get Kakashi to train him until it is time to join the forces. The last loyal Uchiha even considered the possibility of running the Anbu in the future like his clan had the police force.

"You are daydreaming once more." Naruto said, interrupting the Uchiha's thoughts. He frowned at Naruto who only laughed in response.

"How the hell do you…you know…forget it. I'm done trying to figure out." Sasuke was showing the same expression on his face when he received the chunnin vest.

"The first time you were dreaming of how you'd kill Itachi, what are you thinking now?" Sasuke snorted, but answered in the end.

"…the possibility of me becoming Anbu Commander in the future after killing Itachi; giving back the clan's prestige." Naruto snorted at the motive and Sasuke looked at him.

"You talk as if your clan doesn't have any prestige. To this day, I don't believe there's anything you wish to have that wouldn't be granted to you, just because of your clan's name. You walk inside a store and the vendor already offers you a big discount just for his store to be known for having the Uchiha Clan as customer." Sasuke frowned at the comment, but he would be a big hypocrite if he denied such a claim. It didn't mean that Naruto would stop, though. "If you invade a council's meeting and tell them to name a street in your name, they would do it. If…"

"Okay, damn it. You made your point, can you stop now." Naruto smirked and nodded at the still flustered rival.

"Still it would be quite an achievement in your _shinobi _career. My aim is considerably less ambitious than yours, that's for sure. Full-fledged jounin is okay for me." Sasuke snorted and looked at the blond.

"I won't take you for modest. You could be even greater than merely a jounin, you could even become hokage."

For some reason that Sasuke didn't know, Naruto started to laugh uncontrollably.

"…Wow, I don't think I ever laughed so hard in my life, thank you Sasuke. No, let's see where I go after I become a jounin. Tell me how far you are in our little project?" Naruto saw Sasuke smirking in clear triumph before opening a scroll and summoning a ninjato that belonged to his father. It was simple in design. The scabbard was black and the hilt was silver. Sasuke strapped it behind his back like Naruto's. Sasuke was practicing with it in secret and now he figured it was time to use it. Once strapped to his back, Sasuke took the ninjato off the scabbard for Naruto to see. Using his seeing technique, Naruto could see that the sword isn't a regular one. He could see plenty of seals that were invisible to the naked eye. It was properly crafted for the user to channel chakra through. Sasuke immediately summoned lighting chakra on the hand that was holding the sword and the energy was passed on to the metal. Once the seal absorbed Sasuke's energy, it managed to self sustain for a certain time without needing to recharge. The look on Sasuke's face was evidence of his pride in his skills.

"Impressive, very impressive. At least now we can have a proper kenjutsu match." Sasuke was so busy enjoying his lighting based sword that he failed to realize he wasn't the only one capable of such a feat.

Naruto did the same thing with his as well, surprising the Uchiha. "I managed it during my training for the Chunnin Exams." Naruto saw Sasuke charging at him with his sword and moved to deflect the blow. The clash resulted in a bright show of sparks surrounding the two as they sparred together, even if to any bystander's stand point, it didn't look like a spar, but an actual fight between two high level shinobi. Naruto had the advantage in speed, until Sasuke activated his sharingan, evening the odds. The smile was clear in both recently promoted chunnin as they showed their promise in the kenjutsu department. Their fight would go on for another half an hour before they felt satisfied and marched to different directions.

Needless to say that their future will be bright and full of achievements that very few ever manage to reach.

* * *

**Author Note**

Okay, I'll end it here.

It could be considered short, based on my other chapters, but I managed to cover everything I wanted to. Not only Naruto and Sasuke were promoted to chunnin, but also they have a bright future ahead of them with Naruto becoming the head of the village's spy network and Sasuke joining the ranks of Anbu. Also, a different choice for the Hokage's position, this time is Jiraiya of the Sannin. I admit I was tempted by the funny idea of him issuing a new order that every kunoichi must be naked when reporting in his office. It would have been much funnier if he was bombarded by their wrath soon afterward. But it won't be like that. Next chapter I'll start with Naruto's journey towards meeting the spies and training under Jiraiya. A few surprises will appear along the way, but I'll keep my mouth shut.

Please review. I wish to hear your thoughts.


	17. Spy Network

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Meshii.

First of all, to answer all the reviews, I've fixed last chapter the part when Naruto comments about his first kill. Go check it out.

Now, not much to say about the recent events in the manga really (if you don't wish to know, then just skip this paragraph); Obito and Madara started to get annoyed by the Hachibi and Kyuubi Jinchuuriki as both keep getting in their way. Still no answer to the recent revelations, mainly about the real reason behind Kakashi killing Rin or why he wasn't declared a missing-nin for such a transgression; I had seen a funny image, though, at one point in the last manga. When Obito turned to Madara and commented his need to test the Juubi's power, I saw a glimpse of the old Obito's face (at least the part that isn't smashed). It's funny because when drawing a bad guy, people always tend to focus more on more evil pronounced faces, like Orochimaru for instance. Could you imagine the snake sannin not showing that wicked smile of his? It's unnatural really.

Just to point it out there, since I'm starting to believe that Kishimoto will decide to spare Obito and kill Madara. I don't know…perhaps Kakashi will take some sense into him and he'll turn against Madara.

It did happen a lot as you may recall with Neji and Nagato, for instance.

Now how about answering some reviews?

* * *

**Craven34** – I'm sorry, but what poll are you talking about in chapter 16?

**J.E.P 1996** – She will, but not as Hokage.

**Warriorx559** – Well, there isn't much to do concerning Tsunade right now rather than focusing on the medical field.

**Troutman30** – I apologize for the time it takes to update all my stories. Recently, though, I have finished my fourth story, so logically I'll be able to update the still in progress stories much faster than before. When an author has one story to update, it's one thing, but up to a couple months ago, I had seven to update. It's hard to manage it all and not cover my job, my studies and my life outside fanfiction. Fanfiction is above all a hobby. That being said, I can't just focus my entire time into updating new chapters. Only a fellow writer could hope to understand, though.

**OoOXylionOoO** – Not much to say about that!

**Rescue007** – I agree as I'm too a NaruAnko fan. I'm still trying to improve their bond a bit, before moving on to a relationship. Even so, I'm still trying to see how I can do it and not change the character I'm trying to portray. Perhaps, skip the romantic parts of it all and simply keep them together.

Now on with the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 17 – Spy network**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

It had been two days since Jiraiya agreed to take on the Hokage mantle as the Godaime Hokage.

The entire ordeal, though, was being taken care of behind closed doors as the village's sole intention right now was to get back up from the invasion. Buildings to rebuild, heroes to pray for and most importantly, increasing the number of missions. It might seem a bit cold to say that missions were more important than paying respect to the fallen heroes that helped save the village. However, in the ninja business, image and rumors were deadlier than a sharp kunai. If for instance word went out there that Konoha was reducing their amount of missions, the other four great villages might take the opportunity to attack. Because of this, Hiruzen's office right now was in pandemonium as the kind old Sandaime Hokage was shouting orders left and right for pretty much the entire shinobi force that the village could afford to run the missions and bring the village income.

His successor was there as well, but didn't voice his opinion much. The news of him being the next in line was only privy to the council, the jounin commander Nara Shukaku and the Anbu commander. If word got out that the Sandaime Hokage would be stepping down, Hiruzen wouldn't be able to handle both the village's reconstruction and the mission assignments. Jiraiya, while watching his sensei working, began to wonder if he should simply make a run for it while he had the chance; such is the terror of dealing with paperwork.

When the last mission was handled, Hiruzen took a long and heavy sigh as he once more triumphed in his war against paperwork, which was soon at an end.

"I guess we can call Naruto-kun here now and explain." Jiraiya noticed that the man was talking to him, so Jiraiya nodded.

"I guess so. Want me to call him?" Hiruzen negated with his head as they heard a knock on the door, before the subject of their concern just entered. It was actually the first time Jiraiya got to see his godson and he took a special glance at the boy's eyes. As Naruto walked inside the office, Jiraiya noticed that Naruto wasn't staring at the Hokage, but at the ground instead. He knew the kid to be blind, but he figured that a blind person would turn his head to the direction of the voice. It was kind of weird, he mused.

"You called me jiji?" Hiruzen nodded.

"Please come in Naruto-kun. I called you here to firstly introduce you to my student and one of the Sannin, Jiraiya." A simple nod was the kid's answer. Jiraiya wasn't sure what to do, because Naruto couldn't show simple acknowledgement other than openly express himself in such a manner. "Before commencing with the mission you're about to be sent on Naruto, I wish to confide something I trust you'll remain secretive about. The invasion taught me an important lesson, Naruto-kun. It showed me that it was due time I stepped down from this seat and nominate a successor." Hiruzen waited a couple seconds for his grandson to process everything. Naruto for his turn lifted his eyebrow in surprise at the sudden idea that his grandfather would step down from being Hokage. It was indeed quite a shock as the kid actually admired Hiruzen's strength.

"Step down? But the village was invaded by two hidden villages during the chunnin exams. How could anyone manage to prepare for it?"

Hiruzen and Jiraiya smirked at the kid.

"I appreciate the vote of confidence Naruto-kun. I'm not talking about the invasion, which indeed was unavoidable. My fight against my former student Orochimaru was the eye opener. Twenty or even ten years ago, for instance, I wouldn't dream of needing the help of a genin to defeat my student, which I deeply appreciate you for. It's time someone younger took the stand and better protects Konoha. Not to mention that I'm truly in need of some vacation time, my boy. Perhaps even enjoy some quality time with my family as I ended up neglecting all of you because of the job." Naruto snorted at the last comment.

"We all understand how important the job is, Jiji. No one blames you for it." Hiruzen once again smiled at the kid. Naruto wasn't around when this problem started. It was why Asuma chose to join the Daimyo's guards.

"Thanks again kiddo. Now, as you probably realized, Jiraiya will be the next Godaime Hokage. Once more, I reiterate the importance of keeping it a secret for now." Naruto nodded this time effectively turning to Jiraiya before nodding at the man. "Jiraiya also happens to be responsible for keeping a spy network outside the village that is responsible for keeping Konoha as informed as possible on the other villages' movements. This way, we can anticipate movements that would harm us in the future and prepare in advance. Unfortunately, the rumors of the invasion came too close to the date of the chunnin exams, not allowing us to plan accordingly. But we were informed in advanced, nonetheless. With me so far, Naruto-kun?" Naruto nodded, so Hiruzen continued. "Since Jiraiya will be the next Hokage, he won't be able to keep the spy network active anymore, thus we need to appoint a successor for him as well. After consideration, he chose you for the job." Naruto looked at both of them smiling and uttered the only answer he could think of as an answer.

"…What?" The kid managed to compose himself rather quickly, after using such a loud tone of voice. The pervert sannin laughed, but explained.

"Your abilities make you the best at information gathering, Naruto-kun. Your technique can hear heart beats and thus you can tell when someone is lying about something. My job requires a lot of interrogation and information gathering. As such, it will be needed of my successor to separate the false rumors from the facts that may endanger Konoha in the future. Plus with your ability in genjutsu, you can blend well and be undetectable. I will certainly teach you a couple of nice techniques to go along with it as we travel." The last word seem to awaken Naruto as he was busy contemplating the words chosen by a sannin regarding his abilities.

"…Travel? Where to?"

"I'll be introducing you to my spies around the Elemental nations. Also, I'll be overseeing your training in the field as well as some other related activities."

Naruto was busy processing everything when Hiruzen smirked and tossed two scrolls for his grandson to catch.

"Don't think you're getting off the hook from missions, as you're now a chunnin and must help with the mission load that Konoha is being requested to perform. They both are solo C-ranked assignments that happen to take place during one of the stops, one in Tea Country and the other close to the border of Fang Country. The first one involves delivering an important business contract to a business man in Tea Country and the other involves the protection of a dignitary's son while he attends a meeting. The details are all in the scroll. I don't want you to ask Jiraiya for help, Naruto-kun. It will be required of you to deal with the missions on your own. In the future, you'll be taking on much more dangerous assignments and even leading them as you grow. Now do you have any questions?" A few, the new chunnin immediately answered in his mind. But none of them had any relation to his assignment and future responsibilities. All he wanted to know was why him, damn it.

"No, I'm good. When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow; pack for a long trip. I plan to wrap it up in three months tops."

Naruto nodded and left the room, feeling a little bit dizzy of just what was being addressed in the room. Hiruzen and Jiraiya smirked at the kid.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

As soon as Naruto stepped out of the Hokage's Office Building, his vision technique allowed him to spot someone hiding behind the nearest tree to the building exit. He continued walking though, not interested in whatever the presence wanted with him nor did he wish to know why said person was hiding in the first place. He adjusted his chunnin vest a bit, having to get used to the new addition to his wardrobe. His mother told him that he didn't need to wear the vest if he didn't want to. However, Naruto enjoyed the presence of the vest, it being a constant reminder to everyone who still wishes to attack him. Attacking a genin is one thing, but a chunnin is another. The sudden shift in the air behind him alerted him to the fact that the follower began to move.

Naruto couldn't help but applaud the person as if it wasn't for his sensitive hearing, he wouldn't have caught the air shift. Whoever the follower was, he or she was easily jounin in skill. Casting a simple disorientation genjutsu, Naruto began to move once more. In actuality, he, the real Naruto, was already behind some bushes while the followed kept following an image of him. When the long overcoat appeared in his field of vision, Naruto smirked and started following the ninja to see just what the woman wanted with him. Ten minutes later, when the image of the chunnin stood still in one of the village's training grounds, Anko smirked and charged with her snakes, hitting nothing but air just as Naruto released the genjutsu and appearing behind the startled woman.

"Would you mind telling me why you were following me Anko-sensei? You could have simply approached me right away." The Tokubetsu Jounin turned to see him, still wondering what the hell just happened. She realized soon, though.

"Genjutsu?" Naruto simply nodded, earning a nod followed by a smirk on her face; certainly not a good sign. "It seems you had inherited Nai-chan's talent. I didn't even realized it."

"Is there something you need with me, sensei? You still haven't answered my question." Anko smirked once more. Definitely not a good sign as Naruto had to leave tomorrow.

"Yeah, well, I'm bored you see. And I don't have many people to turn to in regards to that." The chunnin sighed in dismay at the woman in front of him. Even if he said he had a mission tomorrow, Anko wouldn't stop until she was satisfied.

"What are the terms, then, a simple spar or full-out battle?" The look in her eyes and how her chakra was flaring was answer enough that she chose the latter. Naruto didn't wait for long as Anko was quickly in front of him delivering punches and kicks, but Naruto had seen her moving faster than this when they trained for the chunnin exams. Quickly evading some of the most dangerous blows, Naruto backed away a bit and quickly threw a couple of shuriken at Anko. The woman halted her movements and parried the shuriken with a kunai. When the shuriken just kept coming, though, she started to realize that something wasn't right about all this. Her mind clicked suddenly, before she abandoned the oncoming shuriken and turned to block Naruto's incoming sword strike.

"You're like a second Kurenai, aren't you? However, she isn't as feral in attacking. That's what I like about you."

Anko wasn't expecting any word coming from Naruto as she backed away and went through hand seals. Naruto knew the woman was deadly serious when he saw the tiger seal. He was already making his own as well.

**Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu **(Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)

**Meiton Kurosekisho** (Dark Release: Dark Barrier Technique)

Anko inhaled some air and unleashed the almighty beast towards Naruto, who was already forming the barrier by the time the dragon hit it. It consumed a bit of chakra, but Naruto managed to stop the technique. Quickly releasing it, Naruto grabbed his sword once more and parried Anko's hidden tanto. The smirk on her face revealed that her attack was meant to occupy him for a while. A snake suddenly appeared inside the right sleeve of her coat and lunged at Naruto's neck. The woman was alarmed when Naruto was bitten, but smirked when the log appeared where Naruto was. She just stood in her position, though, smiling the entire time. Fighting him was exhilarating. Naruto was merely a recently promoted chunnin, but he had a great deal of techniques in his arsenal that would certainly grant him jounin status in time. He just needed more experience under his belt.

"Since you're standing there, does it mean that you're satisfied?" The woman closed her eyes and then turned to face the blond.

"Oh no…that was merely a warm up, my dear Naruto." Sometimes, he wondered why he even bothered asking.

* * *

**===With Sasuke===**

While his rival was busy fighting a Tokubetsu jounin, Sasuke was just finishing a small spar with his sensei Kakashi. At first, Sasuke searched Kakashi for something he wanted to ask him about. However, the words soon failed him as getting inside Anbu was no small feat. Sasuke was the same age as his brother when Itachi joined the Anbu forces. A part of him wondered if given the circumstances, he would be following in his brother's footsteps. Certainly, Sasuke's chunnin promotion came on at such a later date, compared to Itachi who became one at age ten. Dodging a kunai from Kakashi, Sasuke had trouble remembering which lesson he was having at the academy when he was ten years old. Probably he was beginning to learn the three E-ranked jutsu that every genin need to learn in order to graduate.

Sasuke unleashed a fireball at Kakashi who used a quick water barrier technique, before attacking Sasuke from his side. The Uchiha managed to block the assault and initiated a taijutsu battle.

He began to wonder what it would be like in Anbu. If memory wasn't failing him, his brother became more distant from him and his family when he joined the Anbu forces. Just what sort of experience will he face once inside the Special Forces? Would he begin to understand Itachi or what he'd been through in order to change so much? Sasuke's wonderings were cut short when he received a strong punch to his chest. He was sent flying a little bit by Kakashi, but managed to use the momentum and flipped his body to land safely on the ground.

"I gather you've lost your focus a second or two. In the field, the enemy won't be so forgiving." Sasuke nodded, but Kakashi continued the lecture. "Now that you're a chunnin, if you hesitate, you will not only endanger your live, but the lives of those you'll be leading in the future." Kakashi waited a bit to see if the lecture was providing results. Sasuke remained in deep thought, though Kakashi's gut told him that his student was thinking of something else other than the important lessons of a chunnin in the field. "I know there is something bothering you Sasuke, what is it?" Sasuke looked up at Kakashi's stoic visage, while pondering on how to put his thoughts into words. Now that he considered that he may end up following in his brother's footsteps, Sasuke began to wonder if getting in Anbu was indeed the way to go about becoming stronger. After a while, though, it was clear to him that remaining where he was now, his growth rate wouldn't be as pronounced.

"How can someone join the Anbu forces?" The question alone made Kakashi's only eyebrow raise in question. He then placed his hand on his chin in a thinking position.

"Well, as I recall, a shinobi or kunoichi can only join the forces through an written invitation made by the Anbu commander to the Hokage. The Hokage will process the invitation and approve of said nomination. Why do you ask?" Kakashi smirked at his student's stare. "Do you wish to join Anbu? Despite continuing the obvious glare, Sasuke merely nodded, somewhat embarrassed at having asked to join when he just heard that in order for him to join, he would have to impress the division commander.

"I wish to become stronger and my brother became as strong as he is right now, because he joined the Anbu forces. I wish to join as well."

Kakashi merely answered with an understanding noise.

"Well, like I said, the only way one can join is through invitation from the commander. When the wars began, the Anbu program was opening spots for anyone who wished to join. Of course, those were dire times. Only the elite of the elite managed to survive through it and even a few of them were killed in the war. Now, though, after the pact of neutrality signed by the villages after the last great ninja war, we have reached an era of relative peace, you know, not counting the invasion." Kakashi could see the somewhat angry expression on his student's face at presumably being unable to join the ranks and receive tougher assignments. He almost wished he could prolong the sight as it was rather amusing to keep the charade. "It turns out, though, that you were indeed invited by the commander to join the forces; Naruto was as well." Sasuke's head jerked up so roughly that Kakashi thought it had dislodged from his neck. He understood how eager his sensei was to play these sorts of pranks on him from time to time.

"Seriously? Naruto as well?" Kakashi nodded, smiling while seeing such a rare sight of Sasuke smiling. Getting recognized by the Commander of the Anbu forces did help inflate someone's ego, he assumed.

"Yes, although I believe that Hokage-sama has different plans for his grandson, but in your case, he accepted the nomination." He then threw a scroll to the Uchiha. "Inside the scroll is a map of where you should head out and the time."

Kakashi then simply vanished with thumbs up and a smile on his face. The Uchiha wasn't even paying attention as he released the scroll and memorized the map.

* * *

**===Time of Departure===**

A bruised Naruto stood side by side with the future Hokage of Konoha as they began their journey towards integrating Naruto into Jiraiya's spy network. Jiraiya found it comical when Naruto explained him the reason behind the bruises, cuts and snake bite marks. Apparently, he and Anko had taken their so called _spar _a bit out of proportion. While Naruto's entire body showed the results, Anko was sent to the hospital because of chakra exhaustion. While Anko was stronger than him, there wasn't anyone in the entire hidden village in the leaves that could go toe to toe with Naruto in terms of stamina and chakra capacity. Still when Anko was admitted into the hospital by her battle partner, Naruto could have sworn that she had fainted with a smile on her face.

Jiraiya remembered the look of horror from the Sandaime at the results of the fight. After a bit of walking, Jiraiya decided to stop for some lunch as he had some explaining to do.

"Okay Naruto, the basics of how my spy network works. First of all, I want to impress upon you that everything you learn from this trip is strictly confidential. The members of my network work their asses off to remain under the radar." Naruto nodded. It was indeed dangerous as Jiraiya concentrates a lot of information from the other nations. If word got out that these nations had a mole inside, they would kill them on the spot and worse, blame Konoha for it. "Now, usually, the most important aspect of the network is to have one or two spies hidden inside every nation throughout the elemental nations. My preference is to possess one inside the hidden village and another close to the country's capital. This way, I can process Intel from both sources and unite them. There will be times when your hidden village spy says one thing and the other spy close to the nation's capital, another entirely different truth. With me so far?" The chunnin nodded. "Good…I'm sure you'll do fine, kid. Your ability in reading people will certainly aid you in this job. You can't expect them to always tell you the truth. There will be times when they will deliberately lie to you. Usually, it happens when they believe they are being followed by someone." Naruto nodded, though he had a question.

"How do they contact you?" The pervert smirked at that.

"They don't contact me, there is a reason I don't spend much time in the village. Messages can be intercepted by the enemy. What I do actually is maintain a schedule with all of them that allows me to hear what they have to report. The problem, though, is that schedules are risky. The enemy may catch up to the fact that said spy meets regularly with a Konoha-nin and decides to investigate. If such a thing happens, my spies leave certain messages to me in a hidden location I visit before meeting them. If there is no message, then the coast is clear for us to meet. You'll know these things eventually. Now, as you do not have a free clearance to travel like the Sannin possesses, you will need to train your infiltration skills. This is where your meiton ninjutsu and your genjutsu comes in. I also have two jutsus that will help you to infiltrate without people seeing you. At the end of this trip, you'll need to be able to catch me by surprise."

"What?" Catching a sannin by surprise was the equivalent to catching the Hokage by surprise. Jiraiya's expression and the ridiculously steady heart beating rate showed that the man was dead serious.

"Trust me when I say that if you get caught, you're finished. Not to mention that if the enemy manages to link you to Konoha, chances are that they would retaliate." Sometimes, he wondered why the hell the Hokage didn't give this job to someone else. Naruto took some time for him to get the full picture. It was indeed a tremendous responsibility. Aside from keeping the village hidden in the leaves informed at all times about the happenings of other nations, but he must also look over his shoulder every second to ensure that he wasn't caught. Thus the burden of a spy, he reasoned.

"I understand…you were saying about two techniques to aid me?"

Jiraiya nodded with a smile on his face as he acknowledged the time Naruto took to take everything in. It was indeed a great responsibility to uphold.

"Indeed I did. The first one is a technique I learned from the Toad Clan, but I don't think they will object to me teaching you. It's called **Gama Daira Kage Ayatsuri no Jutsu** (Toad Flat Shadow Control Technique). Despite its large name, it's rather useful in tough spots. What it does is merge yourself into the shadow of an enemy, let's say, a random chunnin in Kumogakure. By being his or her shadow, you can control his or her movements, without alerting your presence. Be warned, though, that high level shinobi could spot you and attack. If that happens, remember to use a genjutsu and escape. If you attack head on, they will know where you came from and will retaliate. The other one is called **Meisaigakure no Jutsu** (Camouflage Concealment Technique). It's a high level technique created by Iwagakure, so never use it near Earth Country. Through the technique, you can become invisible to others, except to dojutsu users. Don't worry kid, after I'm through with you, the only way you'll get caught will be if you really want to."

Naruto saw the confident smile on the sannin's face and nodded. He was getting better at hiding his position after his fight with Anko. With the sannin's help, he would only improve.

"Also, you need to be able to face the opposition in case you do get caught. That being said, I'll be training you in other aspects as well while we travel."

* * *

**===In Konoha===**

Unknown to anyone, two individuals were standing on top of the walls that surrounded Konoha. They were busy contemplating the level of destruction caused by the invasion. Both were using the same looking outfits, consisting of black robes with red clouds on it and a bamboo hat. The taller one even had a strange looking sword that appeared to be wrapped by white tape. The smaller one appeared to be lost in his own world as he continuously stared at the damage created by the village. The sight brought up a smile to the bigger one, next to him. It was rare to find teasing material to use against his partner. To this day, he couldn't remember ever seeing any sort of emotion coming out of his partner. He sometimes wondered about the events prior to him joining the organization.

"You're not angry for what the snake did to your home village, are you Itachi?" The taller individual even showed his shark like teeth to his partner to emphasize his amusement.

"Hardly Kisame…let's go collect what we came here for and leave. The more time we spend here, the more we risk calling attention." Despite the lack of heat behind the response, Kisame knew his partner better than most.

The two individuals immediately jumped inside the perimeter of the village before any of the chunnin guard noticed them standing on the walls. Once inside the perimeter, the two began their casual walk towards the more crowded parts of the village. It was surprising that neither were spotted by the shinobi hanging around the village or even the Anbu that were so busy patrolling the region. Practically, both could be considered invisible for all Konoha cared. The reason, though, was that Itachi was actually an Anbu Captain of Konoha a long time ago and as such, knew how to remain inconspicuous. He just had to look out for his partner's excessive chakra supply. Kisame could be called many things, but subtle isn't exactly the word to describe him.

In no time, the two entered inside a tea shop and stood there calmly drinking some herbal tea as the people walked by, not even knowing that two S-ranked missing-nin were hanging around. That was until Itachi's eyes were fixed at a certain gray haired man, wearing a jounin vest. He was talking to two others, one also wearing the jounin vest and the other, a kunoichi. He knew that they were spotted the minute Hatake Kakashi got close. It was only a matter of time before the confrontation began.

"Nice meeting you two here together? Are you on a date or something?" Kakashi smirked at the light pinkish glow on Kurenai's face at the mention of her dating Asuma.

"You're the one who called us here, Kakashi. What is it that you want?" Asuma noticed that Kakashi's eyes were focused on the two strangers seating inside the Tea Shop. Both Asuma and Kurenai were alerted immediately. Kakashi, then, turned to Kurenai and nodded to her. Apparently, she got the message, before walking away leaving Kakashi and Asuma alone as they observed the two strangers from afar. Itachi, for his turn, got up from the stand followed by Kisame and walked towards a more secluded location. Kakashi and Kisame followed them until they arrived near a river that crossed the village.

"Why isn't Kurenai here with us? I have a feeling that we'll need every help we can get." Kakashi nodded.

"I have a hunch as to the identity of one of them. She went ahead and informed Hokage-sama to call reinforcements."

When the two black cloak individuals stopped and faced the two jounin, Kakashi announced his hunch.

"What are you doing here, Itachi?" Asuma looked at Kakashi in shock and then looked at the smaller one of the opposition. Kakashi was never wrong about these things.

"Long time no see Kakashi-sempai, Asuma-sempai." Itachi said as he removed the bamboo hat from his head. "I assume you sent Kurenai-san away to inform the Hokage about our position. I gather that it would take the Anbu close to five minutes to come here, considering they are sending at least two squads." Kakashi looked at the Uchiha member in surprise as the man was spot on in his assumption. Itachi was considered an S-ranked missing-nin for a reason. "Tell me Kakashi, where is the Yondaime's legacy? I don't see him anywhere in the village? Where is he?" Asuma looked at the enemy in question, but Kakashi narrowed his eyes, since he knew what or actually whom Itachi was making reference to. Just what could the man possibly want to do with Naruto-kun.

"What could you possibly want with him, Itachi?" Kakashi immediately went on high alert as he saw Itachi grabbing some shuriken on his hands without even showing any sort of hostility. Kisame took the moment to show himself.

"It seems he's quite on edge, huh Itachi?" Both Kakashi and Asuma narrowed their eyebrows at the appearance of yet another S-ranked missing-nin, former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Hoshigaki Kisame. Itachi, though, answered Kakashi's question, while mentally counting that two minutes passed since they left the tea shop, having three more minutes, before they were surrounded by two Anbu squads. Kakashi was a shrewd individual and was hoping to stall them with questions, keeping them occupied.

"Our organization's reasons are our own. We shall take our leave now Kisame." The swordsman looked like he wanted to protest, but nodded. They both vanished just as the Hokage arrived with two squads of Anbu.

"What seems to be the matter here Kakashi?" Hiruzen was wearing his Kage robe and his hands were casually on his back.

"Sir, Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame were here moments ago and they were looking after Naruto-kun." Hiruzen narrowed his eyebrow immediately, remembering the Intel given by Jiraiya just before he left about this Akatsuki Organization that was after the Bijuu. He didn't know that Itachi and Kisame were some of the members. This complicated things, because if his experience taught him enough, Hiruzen was sure that neither Itachi nor Kisame was the leader; which meant that there were people out there stronger than Itachi and Kisame after his grandson. He needed to warn Naruto, immediately about this. Kakashi saw the look of contemplation in Hiruzen's eyes and finished the report. "I don't yet know what Itachi could want with Naruto, though."

Hiruzen nodded, before telling the two elite jounin everything about Jiraiya's findings. Needless to say, both of them were shocked that Naruto had such powerful enemies hunting him right now.

The Hokage didn't waste any time and summoned Enma in order to relate the information to Naruto, through the summoning contract. Jiraiya needed to be on the lookout for them. He turned to the squad of Anbu.

"Conduct a search throughout the village and find those two. I don't want any of you to engage them, just report to me where they are." The Anbu didn't need to be told twice before vanishing, just as Hiruzen summoned his old monkey partner.

* * *

**===With Sasuke===**

Completely unaware of what just happened in Konoha, Sasuke looked one more time at the map in his hands and wondered what was going on. In front of him should be the entrance to the Anbu Headquarters, but he could only see forest and rocks. A part of him wondered if Kakashi was playing a prank on him. For some reason, he always wanted to get a rise out of the last loyal Uchiha. When Sasuke activated his sharingan, he was surprised to see a completely different landscape in front of him and an actual door. Sasuke smirked at the ingenuity of hiding the entrance through genjutsu. Once inside the concealed room, he went through a long set of stairs, still with the sharingan activated. It wouldn't kill him to be prepared in case of another genjutsu placed for those who passed through the first one.

When the stairs ended, Sasuke saw a member of the Anbu forces waiting for him. It was a kunoichi from the looks of things, if the long purple hair was any indication. She had a cat mask concealing her face.

"Welcome Uchiha Sasuke to the Anbu Division HQ. I'll be guiding you through, explaining everything about joining the ranks of Anbu. Please follow me." Sasuke nodded as he followed the woman operative through a complicated set of halls. "Let me begin and explain what an honor it is to be a part of the Anbu forces. We are considered the elite of the village, reporting only to the Hokage's orders. Like your genin team, every Anbu member is treated here like family. That being said, any kind of selfish actions is considered treason. Do you understand?" Yuugao turned and even used killing intent directed at the Uchiha. Sasuke couldn't do much other than swallow nervously and comply. He knew that this woman was strong, whoever she was.

After walking a bit more, Yuugao stopped in front of a door, before turning to Sasuke.

"As of right now, you'll be joining the probation period and thus will be tested thoroughly in one month period. We'll see which team you're best suited for. Now, get inside and pick up your new battle clothes. Before you go inside, though, I wish to impress upon you your need for secrecy. Once you place on your mask, your identity is thus concealed from the knowledge of others. Only jounin and above will ever know about the fact that you're in Anbu. That means you cannot, under punishment of death, tell anyone, including your teammates, which mask you wear. I know that your teammate Sarutobi Naruto already knows about it, but that's only because he was also nominated for the Anbu position. Aside from him, everyone else is forbidden."

Sasuke was okay with that rule, considering that he wasn't interested in telling anyone, aside from his rival and his sensei, who actually give him the invitation.

The Uchiha opened the door and marched towards the only locker that was open. Once inside, he took a minute to administer his new clothing from now on. He now would be wearing black pants and sleeveless mesh shirt. On top of the shirt, he had special chest armor and reinforcing arm guards that were suited for heavy assault in the field. He also saw a standard ninjato, but figured that he didn't need one. When he looked at himself in the mirror, the image of Itachi immediately appeared. On the night of the massacre, Itachi was wearing his Anbu clothes. Sasuke frowned at the image, but this time wasn't anger that he was feeling. He would train his body until exhaustion in order to face his brother. He was feeling excited at the prospect of Anbu level training.

He saw a tiger mask and smirked. Tiger was the last hand seal used for fire techniques, thus perfect for him.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

The chunnin and the soon to be Hokage were running through an open grass field towards one of Naruto's missions. He needed to perform the one in Tea Country fast because the mission he had in Fang Country required him to be with the client to a meeting in about three days from now. A simple document delivery, while normally handled by mail-nin, were often delivered by a hidden village when the client demands time or believes that the document is targeted by enemies. Both soon stopped once a monkey appeared next to Naruto and gave him a message, before vanishing.

Naruto thanked the little message ape and gave it to Jiraiya. If he was meant for him, it would be written in Braille.

Jiraiya took the message which was written by his sensei, telling him that Akatsuki were just in the village searching for Naruto, which meant that he needed to watch out for S-ranked missing-nin lurking around the premises.

"What's it say? It's from Hokage-jiji?" Jiraiya burned the letter and nodded.

"We need to speed things up, Naruto. Tea Country is close by and then we will march straight towards Fang Country. I happen to have contacts in both countries, so I'll take the opportunity and introduce you to them. Oh and when I say, you use the Meisaigakure no Jutsu you have just learned, okay?" Naruto noticed the serious look and nodded, though he kept wondering what was in the letter. The sannin and soon to be Godaime Hokage wasn't intent on telling him after all. Jiraiya started running once more with Naruto close by. Taking a quick look at the chunnin, Jiraiya couldn't help but see the resemblance between father and son. It was sad that Naruto's normal expression mirrored his father's serious one. He really wanted the boy to have a different upbringing. Despite it all, the similarities also applied to Naruto's learning rate in comparison to Minato's. It didn't take him very long to learn the technique after seeing it being performed. Naruto explained that his vision technique allowed him to see chakra, thus he could see Jiraiya's chakra being molded and did the same thing to his own.

"What did the letter say?" Jiraiya looked at Naruto once more and realized that the kid would do great in interrogation. He knew when someone was deliberately keeping information from him.

"Sensei related to me that an organization made of S-ranked missing-nin were just in Konoha. They were after you." Naruto flinched at being hunted by S-ranked class-nin.

"Tell them to join the club. Why are they after me?" Jiraiya smirked at the first phrase.

"Their motive is still unclear, but the one thing we know is that the group is hunting the jinchuuriki, a group in which you belong to. They are actually after the bijuu in your stomach. Technically, they are a fair distance away from us, but you'll learn that in this world you cannot assume anything. The Yondaime Hokage managed to cover hundreds of miles in seconds, after all." Naruto nodded as he focused chakra to his limbs to follow Jiraiya as best as he could. The pair soon arrived in Tea Country, before Naruto took the scroll handled by his grandfather. He managed to deliver the document to the client without much trouble. The client, who actually was a woman, was of Jiraiya's height, which earned a whistle from the sannin. The woman had also other attributes that earned the whistle. Naruto wasn't even paying attention as he took in the money and then approached Jiraiya, who was still drooling. In fact, as Naruto observed, the man's heart beat was beating very quickly for reasons he couldn't ascertain.

"So where is your contact from here?" Jiraiya had woken up and looked at the chunnin with a smirk.

"…follow me." The sannin kept walking for a while, before he arrived in a strange looking house. The huge neon sign on top of the door was a very clear indication of what sort of activities were conducted in this place. Naruto's nose was instantly filled with a bunch of weird scents that he remembered from the hobbies that his grandfather had, alcohol, smoke and tobacco. He sensed another scent, though, that he couldn't figure out. It was very enticing, though. "Let's enter, Naruto. My contact is in here." Not knowing the death trap he just walked into, chunnin and sannin entered the brothel. As soon as the door was closed, Naruto's head started to hurt as the images flashed in his brain. Once inside, the room population was comprised almost entirely of women and they wore even less clothes than Anko did. He couldn't understand about this feeling, though. He could feel his body get warmer as the enticing smell bombarding his sensitive nose. Jiraiya simply observed the chunnin's behavior with interest.

He also noticed a gorgeous brunette walking towards Naruto wearing nothing but latex underwear. He saw the woman doing what she did best and gently caressed Naruto's shoulder as to call his attention, before walking towards a hidden hallway. The woman didn't know that Naruto's eyes weren't exactly working, but she didn't need to. For a reason that Naruto couldn't phantom, he followed the woman with Jiraiya close behind with a look or pride in his face. He worked his ass off hoping to convince Minato to join the dark side, but he never fully brought the Yondaime to his view of things. It was too bad that the woman was using seduction techniques in order to lure the prey, so to speak. He would have enjoyed hearing about some of Naruto's tales in the future for when he takes over the spy network and perhaps even increase it.

When the woman opened the door to a room with a single bed inside, she waited for Naruto and Jiraiya to enter, before closing the door. She then turned to the sannin, who was smirking as Naruto looked around confused.

"Who is the kid, Jiraiya-sama?" Her voice was also heavenly, despite the rather harsh tone.

"Easy Touka, he is still quite wet behind the ears. He wasn't the only one to fall for your tricks, though. He is to be my replacement as your contact." By this time, Naruto had already awakened to his senses and saw the one next to Jiraiya.

The woman named Touka or at least that was how Jiraiya called her looked at Naruto for some time. The chunnin noticed that the woman had a very little amount of chakra supply, meaning she was most likely a civilian. The sannin explained that most of his contacts were civilians with the exception of a few retired shinobi back from the Second Great Ninja War. The latter often chose the less populated areas, but still had knowledge on the terrain to provide Jiraiya for information. Actually, one was stationed in Fang Country, which just happened to be the place they would be visiting next.

"He doesn't look like much." Jiraiya smirked at the comment. "He doesn't look much older than my sister. How old are you, twelve?"

"Thirteen, actually. Also, you don't have to like me or anything. As far as I'm concerned, I come here and pick up the information and leave after an hour. Jiraiya already explained the routine." The woman smirked at him.

"The routine, as you so called, doesn't involve thinking with your penis and follow the next woman who offers herself. If someone in here receives knowledge of your weakness, they can exploit it and drag you to a trap."

"You may have caught me by surprise, because my teacher forgot to mention about this place. Now that I know it won't happen again. Your name is Touka, huh?"

She nodded and crossed her arms, while wondering if she should believe his word. She owed Jiraiya her life for saving her family from slavery. She supposed that taking his word for it was the least she could do.

"I'm still not fully certain about this, but I trust Jiraiya's word. If he says you're up for it, then you're up for it. Now, shall I begin my report?" Jiraiya nodded. "Not much has happened here in Tea Country, except that a few Iwa-nin were seen marching towards Fire Country, passing through here. One of them happens to enjoy brothels and hired three ladies to massage him. The guy kept talking about how Konoha was invaded and he figured that the place was weak. You might want to increase patrols, Jiraiya-sama." The sannin nodded and then turned to his apprentice for the job.

"You seem to have picked up on something, kid." Quite to the woman's surprise, Naruto nodded.

"Around the part when she said that the iwa-nin hired three girls. That part is a lie."

Jiraiya nodded with a smile on his face as Touka looked at the kid like he was a mind-reader or something.

"I caught on that too. But I'd assume that the three girls were actually only Touka here as the others don't seem to enjoy her company much." Touka, despite being only a civilian, had a fair knowledge of the ninja world. She knew that in Konoha, there are some shinobi with the skill of picking up lies and deceits. As she looked at her new contact, she began to see merit in Jiraiya's choosing. Plus, all jokes aside about him being a teenager, the chunnin had a promising appearance. Touka wondered how he would look in four years. It would be nice to have a handsome man as company even if he was here on business.

"So what's your name?"

"Naruto, nice to meet you Touka."

* * *

**Author Note**

Ok that's it for now. And before anyone asks, no, Naruto won't get in a relationship with Touka. She will be just one of his spies. Also, regarding Sasuke, I first planned to give him the same mask as the one given to Itachi. In the end, i thought against it as it wouldn't be original. Staying close to character, Sasuke wouldn't appreciate wearing the mask that was similar to the man he is training to overcome

On a side note, this will be my last update in 2012 as I'm just about entering my vacation period and will only return in January 5th, 2013.

I wish to everyone, a merry Christmas and a happy new year. See ya all next year as I plan to finish one of my stories soon.

Take it easy.


	18. An old acquaintance

**Author Note**

Hi there and welcome to another chapter of Meshii.

Not much to say, so I'll just skip to the reviews of last chapter.

Tacturn – Indeed, it would be a problem if the spies gave Naruto a note, since he can't actually read it. That's why I considered it was best if Naruto talked face to face all the time. Sure, it would be more dangerous, but the fact that Naruto roams free throughout the lands is already dangerous. He doesn't have Jiraiya's permit to travel around. It will only increase his ability of infiltration. It's kind of the same skill Kabuto displayed throughout his life (check Manga to know what I'm talking about).

PutPutJunior – Thanks a lot. When I created the story in the beginning, I wondered about the difference between dark and actually being an evil person. A truly evil person wouldn't focus on friend or foe. He would only kill or manipulate others into doing his bidding. Although Naruto takes pleasure in killing, he doesn't just kill anyone that appears in front of him. A similar example would be Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z. He does have a dark nature, but he doesn't turn on his peers (I'm talking about the man after he's defeated).

Kishinokurobi – I believe that Naruto's relationship with Anko will be reduced to casual sex. Anko doesn't seem like the type to settle down like that and neither does Naruto seems like the type to be romantically involved with anyone.

Okay, that's about it for now. If you still feel that your answer is let unanswered, please send me a message.

* * *

**Chapter 18 – An old acquaintance**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

It's been two months now since Naruto's departure and since then, Naruto and Jiraiya have been travelling throughout the elemental nations to meet Jiraiya's spy network.

Compared to Touka, the first spy that Naruto met, the others were much more inconspicuous, either being simple merchants or even former shinobi that didn't enjoy retirement, opting to perform long-term assignments as one of Jiraiya's spies. Naruto was surprised to see that one of the former shinobi happened to be a retired Jounin kunoichi from the Land of Grass, named Kaori. Surprisingly so, the woman who happened to be as old as Jiraiya himself, wasn't considered a patriot for Kusagakure. Since Konoha was considered the strongest village in the elemental nations, she much preferred to have the Leaf as an ally, just in case. Naruto found himself sympathizing with the woman, who happened to live inside a small cabin in the border between Grass and Earth Country. Naruto's technique for seeing realized immediately why the woman chose such a dangerous spot for her house. The cabin happened to be protected by a high level fuuinjutsu that consisted of seals spread throughout the perimeter. Naruto's eye technique could see the chakra output of each seal being linked to another. If one would look from the sky, it was like a chakra pentagram with the cabin being in the middle.

Jiraiya explained that Kaori was a seal expert and that Naruto could learn a lot from her.

They even took a while to move from Kaori's place so that she could explain to Naruto her part in Jiraiya's network. She even got to explain shinobi theories to Naruto, consisting mainly on the more obscure ninja arts, such as fuuinjutsu, poisons and even genjutsu. The recently promoted chunnin took a special liking to those arts, especially the knowledge of poisons. The kid enjoyed learning about them, especially those meant especially to kill the enemy. He took special interest in one that could boil the enemy's organs in mere minutes. Kaori taught him a lot, including how to prepare them in advance as well as how to apply them against the enemy. Jiraiya was a little unnerved when Naruto imbedded his sword with a very lethal substance and wondered if introducing him to Kaori was such a good idea. He always feared shinobi like her who chose the most subtle ninja arts. They happened to be the most unpredictable ones in battle and outside of battle as well.

Jiraiya also got to train Naruto in many aspects of the shinobi, often sparring with him as well. His ninjutsu and close combat skills were akin to a mid-level chunnin and would only grow with time.

The perverted sannin, now close to becoming the Godaime Hokage, noticed that Naruto possessed an interesting display of skills that could serve the kid well in the future. Aside from being proficient in close and long-range fighting, the kid was training to become an infiltration specialist as well as well as an expert on assassination missions, if his newly acquired knowledge of poisons was anything to go by. He was even considering some plans for the kid in running solo assignments in the future; infiltration and assassination assignments most likely. Naruto had already proven himself capable of running solo C-ranked assignments, being able to complete all the missions handled by the Sandaime Hokage, through the Monkey summons. As soon as Hiruzen tested the kid, he would move on to B-ranked solo assignments and so forth.

Right now, the two shinobi were busy crossing Fire Country's border. Naruto was introduced to the spies from pretty much the entire elemental nation by now, with the exception of Lightning Country and Kumogakure. Before going to Kumo, Jiraiya needed to be certain that Naruto had it within him to infiltrate the village without being noticed. Kumo was like Konoha in many aspects, focusing a lot in strengthening the borders. The only reason Orochimaru and his army infiltrated, was because of the snake sannin's knowledge of the terrain.

"Is there any particular reason why we're returning to Fire Country?"

"We've been travelling for two months in hostile territory, Naruto. One important aspect of infiltration is that you can't spend long periods of time far from your country of residence." Naruto listened intently at the lesson. "Sure, you have abilities that make infiltration easy, but you always risk being caught by a high level shinobi. Said risk is almost non-existed within Fire Country, since you're from Konoha. Do you understand?" The chunnin nodded at the lesson, while wondering about it. "It's important to always be on the move to avoid suspicion, but you're only truly safe and out of trouble within Fire Country. Now, seeing as we covered a great majority of our mission, we can use some time off for some relaxation and recuperation." Naruto swore he heard a strange giggling sound coming from the sannin, but followed in silence.

* * *

**===Tanzaku Gai===**

Once they crossed the gates to the city of dark deeds known as Tanzaku Gai, Jiraiya hadn't wasted time and booked a room for them in a rather large inn, located close to a nice water stream. Naruto of course was unaware as to the real reason behind Jiraiya's choice. The place was famous for its public baths and the baths happened to allow both genders. No sooner had Jiraiya and Naruto received the keys to their room, the perverted sannin said he had to take care of some business in town, so Naruto was free to do whatever he wished. Once more, Naruto heard the giggling sound coming from the new Hokage, but shrugged his shoulders. He concluded long ago that Jiraiya was an eccentric character, just like his mother described him as. The chunnin even remembered that Mikoto was rather angry when telling Naruto about who Jiraiya was, though Naruto didn't question it.

Once alone, the chunnin decided to take a walk through the inn's backyard that happened to lead straight towards the water stream.

The place happened to be empty as Naruto couldn't sense anyone nearby, with the exception of a few animals in their habitat, close to the water. He actually preferred it this way, seeing as he could focus on some alone training. Throughout the trip, Naruto was busy focusing exclusively on his genjutsu as well as the techniques taught by Jiraiya in regards to infiltration. Therefore, he gave little effort to his ninjutsu capabilities. His dark release techniques were a byproduct of his emotions, so he figured that aside from getting used to them in battle and getting familiarized with the chakra molding, he didn't need to focus in dark energy manipulation. He couldn't say the same about his lightning affinity, which was left alone for the duration of his trip. Going through quick hand seals, Naruto began to course lightning chakra through his arms towards his hand. Kakashi-sensei's lectures on lightning manipulation were still fresh in his mind. Unlike wind manipulation which required two phases (slicing a leaf and then slicing a waterfall), lightning manipulation required decreasing the amount of chakra necessary for a technique.

After ten minutes of continuously molding chakra through his limbs, Naruto took his sword and focused lightning chakra on the metal as he walked on top of the stream. After stabilizing the amount of energy in the sword, Naruto attacked the water stream with his lighting induced sword. The result of his work was clear as lightning energy travelled throughout the entire length of the stream. Once satisfied with his workout, Naruto went through a long series of hand seals as he molded the chakra necessary for a jutsu that he had studied. Soon after finishing the hand seals, he lifted his right arm up, sending lightning energy to the skies. Right above him, the clouds began to darken, before the noise of thunder began to erupt from it.

_Raiton Kusari Raikou (Lighting Release: Lightning Chain Technique)_

From the dark clouds, numerous lightning bolts began to form, before striking at a precise location of Naruto's choosing. Of course, the precision was a little off as well as was the speed behind it. The chunnin was taking far too long to aim the lightning, which would give any enemy the chance to evade it, leaving Naruto open for an attack. He paid little attention to the fact that he had played god in Tanzaku Gai and brought some rain. His eye technique was activate as he analyzed the chakra residue left in the field from his attack. He also paid little mind to the unnerved sannin that stood next to him, soaked because of the sudden rain. Jiraiya was startled when he saw the black cloud forming above his head. So far, the sky was completely blue. The damn rain forced the women away from the public baths and then into the inn. Jiraiya took very little time to sense the usage of chakra nearby and followed it, only to see his chunnin charge there standing on top of the water stream.

"Did you realize you have just ruined my research time, gaki?" Naruto wasn't turning his head to face the clearly furious sannin.

"What do you mean by me ruining your research? I was just practicing lightning techniques."

Jiraiya frowned at the answer, but then nodded with a smile. He was adamant about training 24/7.

"Training huh? You need any help? I've been meaning to talk to you about your ninjutsu, so we might as well begin." Naruto nodded. "Let's go inside the inn and talk over some tea."

Once inside the inn, they saw the majority of the guests looking outside with a sad expression on their faces. Clearly, no one was aware that it would rain today as the town had experienced torrential rains three days ago. Jiraiya looked at the gaki from over his shoulder and smiled at the clear nonchalant look on Naruto's face. If the boy was aware that he had just ruined the day for these folks, he certainly didn't seem troubled by it, although part of Jiraiya wondered if Naruto was aware of what he had done. The hotel facilities included a nice restaurant inside, so Jiraiya and Naruto settled down and ordered some lunch and tea. Naruto was actually looking forward to having this conversation, since Jiraiya happened to be a ninjutsu specialist, above all. He certainly had a lot of knowledge in said department.

"So, like I said before, I've meant to discuss some ninjutsu aspects with you kid. I know from Kakashi that you're a lightning user and you have the knowledge of dark release ninjutsu. However, while having one affinity is fine for a chunnin, it's always preferable for a shinobi to have another element if neither of your skills works against a certain enemy. Trust me kid when I say that in the field, one needs all the advantages he can. You just don't know what the enemy will pull from his sleeves. Now, have you given much thought about which element aside from lightning, you wish to learn? Bear in mind that since you have lightning as your main affinity, then the odds of you learning wind techniques are very slim, not to mention time consuming, but by not all means impossible." Naruto was silent as he processed this. Learning a new element surely wasn't in his plans now, but who was he to deny it. Seeing as the topic was brought it up, it meant that Jiraiya would be giving him some pointers.

"I actually didn't give it much thought. Mastering lightning manipulation is already tough as it is and I have also my meiton techniques to fall back on." Jiraiya nodded.

"Indeed you do and I'm sure you're covered in both offensive and defensive techniques. However, you still need to remember how you felt when confronted with a light user." The memory instantly clicked in Naruto's brain as he remembered how he felt when Haku and Hinata activated their secret bloodline. It was true that light users were rare out there, but Naruto really couldn't afford the risk in the middle of the battlefield. He now understood where Jiraiya was coming from.

"I get what you mean. However, I wouldn't be looking for another purely offensive element such as lightning; thus fire and wind are out of question." Jiraiya smirked at the kid's logic. "With that in mind, the only elements out there than can be both used for protection and attack are water and earth release." While Naruto saw the advantage in knowing water techniques as he could use some lightning techniques together, he couldn't discard the advantages of earth release. Jiraiya mentioned that the infiltration technique from Iwa was an earth release technique. After molding a small amount of chakra, the shinobi use chakra to blend himself with the rocks, trees, etc., thus being invisible to the naked eye. Naruto also remembered his peers from the Sarutobi Clan as they were all fire and earth users. He had access to all sorts of scrolls on earth manipulation.

Jiraiya understood that when the kid was silent, it meant that he was pondering on things. Normally, he would get that by looking at his eyes, but Naruto was blind.

"I guess I'll stick to earth release, then." Naruto said after a while, earning a nod in approval from Jiraiya.

"A fine choice, just like the Sandaime Hokage. Earth is actually considered the most versatile element, as you can attack and defend, but also you can infiltrate and evade powerful techniques. Actually, as you might have figured out, the **Meisai Gakure no Jutsu** (Camouflage Concealment Technique) is one earth technique meant for infiltration. You can also travel from beneath the ground and bypass walls without anyone knowing. With that being said, I'll be teaching you three valuable techniques that will be pretty handy when you're alone. The first one is the **Tsuchi Bunshin no Jutsu** (Mud Clone Technique), it's rather simple and it takes little chakra to do. You can use it if you're heading towards hostile territory and not want to risk going yourself. The second one is called **Doton Dochuu Senkou** (Earth Release: Underground Submarine Voyage Technique) and like I said before, you can use it to travel short distances beneath the earth. The last one is called **Doton Doryuuheki** (Earth Release: Mud Wall Technique). The last one is a hard defense that lifts a wall in front of you capable of parrying A-ranked offensive techniques. Obviously, there a lot more I could teach you, but they wouldn't be any different than these three."

Naruto looked at the soon to be Hokage for a while and sighed.

It seemed as if the man was just waiting for him to choose the earth element. Naruto wondered if the man was prepared if he said he preferred water.

"You're really hoping I would choose Earth, didn't you?" Jiraiya simply nodded with a smile on his face. The kid caught on that rather quickly. Sure, he had water techniques for similar purposes, though.

"Yep, now once the rain clears, we'll begin some earth manipulation exercises first." Naruto nodded. "Just a bit of warning though; using an element that isn't your affinity isn't a walk in the park. You'll have your work cut out for you, I'm afraid. However, I'm sure you will be able to perform these techniques by the time we return to Konoha." They stopped talking once their food arrived. Eating in silence, no one realized who had just walked inside the restaurant.

* * *

**===With Sasuke===**

If someone had told Sasuke that he would regret ever accepting the Anbu invitation, he would laugh at said person.

He only now came to understand exactly what being an Anbu meant, being drilled throughout these last two months. The Uchiha chunnin was constantly tested on all the ninja arts in a gruesome way. He had been through obstacle courses, dodging shuriken and kunai traps, while facing opponents daily. Both his chakra capacity and his stamina were tested to the extreme every day. At the end of each day, Sasuke couldn't even move his body long enough to leave HQ towards his apartment, choosing instead to rest inside one of the dorms located inside the place. Aside from Sasuke's body being full of bruises daily, something inside him never ceased to grow. Actually, all members of the Uchiha Clan had fire running through their veins and without being placed in constant battle, an Uchiha grows impatient.

Sasuke could feel his strength and speed grow up as he went through the drills necessary to become an Anbu operative.

By the end of the two month period, the Uchiha completed a good set of training courses and even managed to face the majority of the obstacles set in his way by his peers. A few of the older operatives couldn't help but remember a similar Uchiha performing the same outstanding movements as Sasuke did throughout these last months. There was no doubt in everyone's minds how much of an asset to Anbu Sasuke will become. Right now, Uchiha Sasuke was inside the Hokage's Office as he was busy receiving Sandaime's orders. Yuugao was by Sandaime's side as they looked at the Uchiha in front of them, kneeling on the ground. His outfit was a little bit different then when he started the Anbu training. He now wore marine blue Anbu pants with a kunai holster on his right leg. He also wore dark blue T-shirt below the usual Anbu protection vest. His ninjato was strapped on his shoulder. Sandaime Hokage looked at the chunnin in front of him with a smile on his face. Uchiha Sasuke managed to top the organization's expectations and deserved the recognition as a full Anbu operative.

"Uchiha Sasuke, first, congratulations on passing the Anbu test. I heard great things from your peers and I'm sure I'll be hearing many more in the future. You'll be forming a team under Yuugao here. You can now get up and raise your head, my boy. You've earned it." Sasuke got up and nodded at his leader with a smile on his face. His tiger mask was strapped on his belt. Sasuke smiled at the Hokage. He was getting stronger now, he could feel it. He was one step closer to beating his brother. Sandaime looked briefly at Yuugao before the woman nodded and vanished from the office. "Before I dismiss you Sasuke, I wish to talk to you about a very important matter that this old man has kept secret from you all this time."

Sasuke looked at the Sandaime for a while in surprise, wondering why the Sandaime looked older suddenly. He merely nodded at his leader.

"As you are now a part of my personal army, you have the right to know about the truth behind the day your brother Itachi killed the Uchiha Clan." Sasuke's eyes immediately widened in surprise and utter shock upon hearing it. What was the Sandaime talking about? What truth is there to tell? Itachi went rogue and killed the Uchiha Clan for his own petty reasons. "I know that this is a sensitive topic for you dear boy, but if you're going to be one of my Anbu, then you'll need to be made aware of the circumstances that happened on that night. I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to me and you weren't told. I know that Itachi wouldn't want you to know, but I feel entitled to explain you everything." Sasuke began to tremble now as the man in front of him was speaking.

"Hokage-sama, I…I don't understand…what you are saying to me." Hiruzen could see that Sasuke was conflicted. However, being an Anbu meant a lot than simply a chunnin. He would know one way or another.

"I'm getting to that my boy and I need your patience as I explain everything to you. I'll answer all your questions after I'm finished explaining." Sasuke nodded and Hiruzen released a sigh before beginning. "The truth is that Itachi didn't kill the clan because he so desired. He was ordered to do so." Sasuke's heart nearly stopped at this as he looked at his leader. Hiruzen kept going, though, confident that Sasuke would see reason. "At the time when Itachi joined the Anbu forces, a tension began to rise between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha. The clan believed that they were being ostracized from the rest of the village and thus were placed under heavy surveillance. The reason behind it was a suspicion then that an Uchiha was behind the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha, whether is true or not, we do not know. Itachi, at the time, came to me and the village elders reporting the clan's intention to revolt against Konoha." Hiruzen stopped for a while as he studied Sasuke's features so far.

"Why wasn't I…." Sasuke began to ask, only to be interrupted by the Sandaime. Sasuke was already trembling at the little information he received.

"Please Sasuke, I'll answer your questions after I'm finished." The Uchiha growled, but nodded. "I'm sure you're well aware of what would happen to the hidden village in the leaves if a powerful clan such as the Uchiha was to revolt. A civil war would surely erupt, causing the loss of thousands in the process, before a side was declared victorious. Believe me when I say that I tried with all my power to talk with the clan to reach a settlement, though I wasn't successful in my attempt. The hatred was simply too great for anyone to solve it with mere words. Unfortunately, for a dire situation, a dire remedy was in order. Itachi volunteered to be the one to solve the issue. Itachi loved the village above all else and he didn't share the clan's ideals. Thus he closed his heart and killed everyone for the sake of protecting Konoha." Hiruzen saw that Sasuke was outright shocked now.

"After doing his bidding and knowing that he would be branded a missing-nin for his actions, Itachi's actions managed to save Konoha. I know that it's too much to take in now, so you can ask me anything."

Sasuke still was silent and his eyes were completely out of focus as he processed the information given by the Sandaime Hokage. In the end, everything that he was led to believe by his brother's actions turned out to be false as Itachi's actions were sanctioned by the Hokage and the advisors. This was simply too much to process and Sasuke's body began to tremble in pain. He began to cry suddenly as he looked at the Sandaime. He had questions but didn't know where to start. Nevertheless, Sasuke found one more pressing question to be answered, above all else.

"If…if what you're saying is true and Itachi's actions were sanctioned by the village, then why was he labeled a missing-nin?"

Hiruzen nodded as it was a valid question.

"The Uchiha Clan was one of the founding clans of Konoha, Sasuke. Imagine what would happen if we told everyone in the village and abroad about their actions. People would revolt instantly, not to mention that there would be too many questions turned our way. We simply couldn't allow the clan's reputation and by proxy Konoha's reputation to be ruined. It was decided that anyone responsible for the clan's murder would be labeled a missing-nin for his actions. Itachi was made aware of this fact and he still went through it. He could have backed off from the responsibility, but he still went along with it, fully knowing of the repercussions."

"But why….why my clan decided to rebel against the village?" Sasuke asked, not knowing much about his father, but he couldn't picture his mother doing something like this.

"I know that it pains you to have this image of your clan, of your parents. I would recommend you to take a few days and research about a man named Uchiha Madara. He was the one that founded Konoha along with Senju Hashirama, the Shodaime Hokage. A long time ago, the man revolted against the village, because he believed that the Uchiha Clan became complacent to simply, as he believed, follow orders from the Shodaime Hokage. Over time, the clan also became frustrated and began to share Madara's view." Sasuke remembered of Madara as he learned of his clan's history a long time ago. His eyes remained out of focus, but the Sandaime could see the child's anger receding a bit, which was good.

"It's too much to process, Hokage-sama. I can't even think straight. I have just one more question, before I ask for some time off." Hiruzen nodded, already knowing that Sasuke needed time to cope with it all.

"Will it ever change? I mean, will Itachi's fate be that of a missing-nin for his entire life?" Hiruzen nodded.

"It isn't simply a matter of time here, I'm afraid. Yes, people tend to forget historical events after a while. Releasing said crime from Itachi's record would be like stating that the Uchiha Clan deserved their fate in the eyes of the population. I labeled it an S-ranked secret for precisely this very reason. No one can ever know the truth or the very foundation of Konoha would be questioned. The Uchiha Clan helped found the village after all. I believed that you deserved to know this from me. Konoha owes your brother for the sacrifice he has made to ensure peace. I deeply respect your brother Sasuke. You'll have a week off to go through what I just revealed to you and should any question arise, don't hesitate to talk to me about it." Sasuke's eyes were still in complete shock as he tried to grasp everything. He just nodded and left the office via shunshin. Sandaime released a sigh in dismay at handling these situations.

"Would you do this old man a favor and keep tabs on him, Kakashi?" Hiruzen asked as the shadow outside the window of the office nodded, before vanishing as well.

Now left alone inside his office, Hiruzen inclined his chair as he looked towards the ceiling with a tired expression. Too much had happened in this office, too much for comfort. Considered the oldest Kage in Konoha, Hiruzen has been through a lot of historical events and tough decisions. His time was over now. In fact, his time was over when he announced the Yondaime as his successor. Taking over when Minato perished sounded like a good idea back then, but it only brought pain and misery to the village. Perhaps, if he appointed someone from the start then the events wouldn't occur. Someone younger than him could have fought harder to keep the Uchiha Clan alive. Someone younger than him, with more will power, could have avoided the Kumo incident that made the Hyuuga Clan bitter. Above all else, he could have dedicated longer periods of time to his loving family. Now that Jiraiya has finally accepted the job, Hiruzen imagined the times of relaxation inside the Sarutobi Residence, back to his daughter Mikoto and son Asuma and also back to his grandchildren Konohamaru and Naruto-kun.

Hiruzen's last big secret involved his adopted grandchild, but he figured that it wouldn't be him to tell Naruto.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

As soon as two women entered inside the restaurant, Naruto' senses went haywire. Jiraiya apparently was clueless as he was fixed in eating his lunch. Quickly activating his chakra pulse, Naruto's brain registered their appearance. Although he couldn't tell color much, he was able to grasp the difference in shades. Both women had grey hair as far as he was concerned. The one with two pigtails had a much lighter shade than the other. The one with lighter shade hair was wearing a long jacket with similar color as her hair on top of a light blue top shirt, at least it was how it appeared to him, he couldn't figure out, really. She wore high heels and pants that ended past the knee area. The other woman wore a dark robe and appeared to be holding a pig wearing dark outfit, which seemed strange to Naruto.

Naruto's eyes picked immediately on the first one was casting a henge around her.

Jiraiya noticed that Naruto wasn't touching his food and looked around, wondering what was going on. When he saw the two women that were taking their seats on the table closest to the window, Jiraiya gasped.

"Tsunade?" Naruto now saw Jiraiya and instantly caught on that the sannin recognized who the woman was. He didn't have time to question, though, as the sannin left their room and approached the table where the women were taking a seat. From Naruto's point, he could attest that the one named Tsunade didn't seem thrilled to see him. He did one of his loud and rather open greeting, but Tsunade merely grunted.

"What are you doing here, Jiraiya? I thought I told you and sensei that I would never go back to the village." Naruto frowned at that, but said nothing and ate his food while paying attention to the conversation.

"I didn't come here to convince you of anything hime, just it was a surprise to see you here, that's all. We're actually taking residence in this hotel for the time being." Tsunade looked at her teammate.

"You said 'we', who else is here with you?" Jiraiya nodded and merely pointed at the place where Naruto was seating.

"I'm training him in espionage and infiltration; he will be taking over my spy network, now that I'm incapable of it, being nominated Hokage and all." Naruto was shocked at the man for revealing the information at this woman, before he remembered seeing a picture inside his house, actually inside his grandfather's room. He remembered seeing Hiruzen's students Orochimaru and Jiraiya and another girl. Now that he took a closer look at this Tsunade person, he realized that she looked like the girl in the picture. He was more at ease now. Taking a sip of tea, Naruto immediately cursed the woman when she just screamed to the heavens in question. Using chakra for his hearing as well, the shout came like a kunai imbedded in his tympanum.

"You're the next Hokage? What happened to sensei?"

If Jiraiya had to tap his ears, you could imagine how Naruto was now. The boy was on the ground, covering his ears.

"Relax, sensei is fine. I'll tell you everything, but first I have to rescue Naruto here. I believe you killed him with your shouting." Tsunade recognized the name instantly and looked at the kid on the ground, holding his ears. Naruto as in Uzumaki Naruto; the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and son of the Yondaime Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki; that Naruto. She went closer to inspect what was happening to the kid, when Jiraiya helped him get up and take him near the women's table.

"Naruto meet Senju Tsunade, she is one of your grandfather's students and one of the sannin as I am." Naruto nodded and greeted the still stunned Tsunade. "I'll tell you everything Tsunade, just wait a bit."

Naruto was in a daze and wasn't able to pick on the subtle conversation between teammates. Tsunade's companion Shizune took care of him as the sannin began to talk in another table.

"Okay Jiraiya, start talking." The sannin nodded as he took a bottle of sake and poured a bit.

"You have to be more specific, hime; about what? The kid or about me nominated as Godaime?" The woman released an angry snarl and asked about the kid first. "Okay, jeez, does my beautiful looks and charm annoy you that much?" Jiraiya knew he was playing with fire when Tsunade merely sent him the look, but it was too good to pass by. "Okay, briefly speaking, as you know the real story, sensei made a choice to take the kid to the Sarutobi Clan and offer him to Mikoto-chan for adoption. She accepted it and took care of him as his mother. Please don't mention it close to the kid, though. He is now one of Konoha's proud chunnin, recently promoted. The best part of it is that the kid is completely blind." Tsunade was drinking her sake, but spit its contents on Jiraiya's face.

"Blind? How was he able to become a chunnin? How was he able to even become a shinobi?" Tsunade did know shinobi who managed to overcome it, but they were rare.

"Sensei happened to have a Jounin in his ranks that was also blind and he taught Naruto how to overcome it with the usage of chakra. Today, unless he outright tells you, you can't see any difference. It's even better as the technique to overcome blindness happened to be similar to how the byakugan works, plus none of the weaknesses. He is just a bit sensitive with his hearing and smell as the technique doesn't focus only on his sight, but all the senses together." Tsunade nodded as she saw Shizune using medical chakra to heal his ear drums.

"Okay and what about you being nominated for Hokage?" Jiraiya snorted at that.

"I'm sure you were aware of the invasion that happened in Konoha, right?" Tsunade nodded. "Well, Orochimaru happened to be the one pulling the strings. I, sensei and Orochimaru engaged in a fight. Sensei managed to hold his own quite longer than expected, but his body just isn't the same anymore, or at least that was what he explained to me. To me, the man still looked the same as when he constantly beat the three of us with only one arm. He offered me the position and at first, I hesitated. Who would have thought that I was fit for the job, right? Anyway, if I had to take the position, then someone would have to take over my spy network. Naruto there has all the qualities as an infiltrator and a spy. I have introduced him to most of my contacts and had been training him ever since we left the village two months ago. Sensei will pass on the mantle when we come back." Tsunade nodded and snorted at her sannin teammate.

"I thought you'd be smarter, Jiraiya. You have practically handed your head in a silver platter by accepting the position. Being Hokage is like signing your own death wish." Jiraiya narrowed his eyes.

He saw the blank look in her eyes and could attest to where she was coming from, but saying those words were shocking. Before he could retort, though, he saw Naruto suddenly approaching the table. For some unknown reason, the kid's chakra was getting more potent now. It actually took quite a while for the pervert sannin to realize it. The kid's meiton abilities must be the answer. According to sensei, Naruto got stronger when closer to pain and misery. Looking closer to Tsunade, he could see the source of Naruto's power.

"What do you want kid, beat it. We're talking here." Naruto smirked at the feeling. He missed it actually.

"I sense great pain coming from you. It's quite invigorating." Tsunade looked at the kid and saw his satisfied face. The kid was practically drooling.

"What are you talking about?" Jiraiya cleared his throat and decided to explain.

"Naruto is also able to use meiton, Tsunade. His chakra is more potent when closer to negative emotions. It's actually one of his traits that allow him to become such a good interrogator in the future. Nevertheless, I wouldn't need him to feel sadness in you as well. I understand why you feel like this about the Hokage position, after what happened. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that they will be killed…." Jiraiya stopped when he sensed Naruto's chakra even more potent. A black aura was forming around his body now. Now looking at Tsunade, he could see her body trembling at the memories of her loved ones getting killed. All of them were Hokage or wanted to become one in the future. "Naruto, I think it's better if you left us alone for a bit." Naruto stood for a while, not wanting to leave, but eventually walked away.

"How dare you, Jiraiya? Never speak about them again." Jiraiya nodded.

"I apologize, it wasn't my intention. Moving on, sensei and I talked about some things and we have decided that if I was to find you during the travel, I would bring you back to run the Hospital." This time, instead of pain, Tsunade snorted at the offer. While it wasn't to become Hokage, the fought of going back to that place wasn't simply an option she wanted to consider now. "Sensei believes, and I happen to agree, that the quality of medic-nins in the village is lacking and is in need of someone with your ability. He even said that he would pardon your, let's say, infractions towards the village if you come back with me and the kid."

"What infractions are you talking about? I did nothing." Jiraiya disagreed by his look alone.

"It's been twenty years since you've left, Tsunade. I know we have rights to travel throughout the elemental nations, but we cannot simply forget Konoha existed. Actually, it was through sensei's insistence, that you and Shizune aren't considered deserters. He wanted to give you enough time to mourn." Tsunade's hard glare hadn't diminished. Quite the contrary if that was possible, Jiraiya mused. The woman was outright fuming right now.

"Deserters? He will mark us as missing-nin if we don't come back with you?" Jiraiya merely nodded, not really fazed about her indignation.

"I know you'll be angrier, but I agree with him. You have been gone long enough, Tsunade." Jiraiya knew what would soon follow as he saw the spike in her chakra. The table they were seating was immediately shattered, but Jiraiya merely got up and stared at his teammate. "I don't need an answer right now. We were supposed to be here until tomorrow, but I don't see any harm in staying a week instead. I will be expecting your answer by then. If you choose not to come, I'll tell sensei immediately." Jiraiya simply turned away to meet his student, leaving Tsunade inside the restaurant, glaring at Jiraiya. Shizune stood in her place a bit far from Tsunade as the woman was radiating an absurd level of killing intent aimed at Jiraiya right now.

* * *

**===Outside the inn=== **

When Jiraiya stepped outside the inn, he found Naruto using his meiton techniques. Apparently, as sensei stated, Naruto's power increased when in direct contact with negative emotions. Jiraiya would be lying if he said he didn't feel the dark aura permeating the environment right now, a feeling that Jiraiya could only describe as similar to a potent killing intent, the likes of which few hardened shinobi could stand and even fewer could fight against.

Despite it all, he approached Naruto and urged the kid to stop for the time being. Quite frankly, Naruto wasn't interested in whether or not the woman would accept the invitation and it showed since so far there was no comment about the situation coming from his mouth. In his point of view, her being there or not wouldn't affect his life. It's not like he had an extensive file at the hospital, since Kyuubi's chakra healed most of his wounds and diseases. He stopped molding his dark chakra and then turned to Jiraiya as the sannin soon to be Godaime Hokage looked like he wished to discuss something with the chunnin.

"I believe it's time to teach you some earth manipulation, kid. If the rate in which you learned raiton is any indication, I bet you won't have much problem." Naruto nodded, somewhat reluctant to stop using the power given to him by Tsunade's feelings. "Now, the theory of elemental manipulation goes the same way as if you were an earth user. The difference is that someone with an earth affinity would need less chakra to perform doton ninjutsu. In essence, an earth user needs to establish a direct chakra link to the earth we stand on. Therefore, please place both your hands on the ground and extend your chakra from your hands. You need to do this until you can feel it." Naruto worked the man's description for a while, wondering what he meant by establishing a link between his chakra and the earth. When he learned lightning manipulation, Kakashi had given him a crash course. Kakashi molded the beginning of his Chidori and simply gave it to Naruto to match the necessary chakra and elemental manipulation. At the time, Kakashi warned him that it would be extremely painful if he failed. This time, though, Naruto had a better idea.

"Could you show me how you do it? By using chakra to see, I can see how your chakra responds to the soil and try to match it somehow."

The sannin nodded with a smile on his face.

He had already demonstrated to the sharingan and byakugan in the past and thus saw where Naruto was coming from.

"Sure thing kid, though I'm certain it won't be enough for you to simply skip practice. For this to work, you need to go through trial and error." Naruto understood that, he only wished to visualize what he needed to accomplish. He briefly remembered using this method seconds after Kakashi trained him in lightning manipulation. Jiraiya went through a basic hand seal sequence, before placing both hands on the ground, while Naruto's vision technique worked his magic. The chunnin's mind was deeply focused as he saw how the link was established, before Jiraiya created a deep hole in the ground, inches from their position. Jiraiya then smiled and turned to the chunnin.

"Get to work, then. Once I'm satisfied with your performance, I'll teach you the techniques I mentioned before." Naruto nodded, now seeing the finish line in his mind.

* * *

**===With Sasuke===**

After sealing the Anbu outfit, Uchiha Sasuke simply roamed throughout the paths of the village, wondering about the truth behind the Uchiha massacre. Even now, a part of Sasuke doubted the validity of the Sandaime's story. It wasn't necessarily surprising, since Sasuke's mind had been predisposed to hating his older brother since the event four years ago. Eventually, everything he thought about ended up reaching that fateful event, which always irked him to no end. Sasuke just couldn't stop thinking about it, no matter how much he tried not to. Even in his training, in the past, an activity Sasuke enjoyed immensely, his brother's mangenkyou sharingan appeared before him. It actually drove him to train harder and pass his usual stamina.

When Sasuke looked up to see where exactly he was, the Uchiha was surprised to see the old building where the Police Force was located.

It could be considered an irony how a clan devoted to solve crimes within the village walls was actually plotting to revolt against the Hokage. Sasuke remembered when Itachi and he was training one day and Sasuke became too tired to walk back home. Itachi carried him home when they passed by the Police Force Building. Sasuke even remembered how proud he was that his clan had such responsibility with the village. It was hard to have this different image now of the Uchiha Clan wanting to revolt against the village, possibly resulting in the loss of thousands of lives. The only loyal Uchiha closed his eyes for a while, before opening in annoyance, as he looked over his right shoulder.

"You can come out now sensei." Kakashi was indeed surprised when he heard his student's voice suddenly. He got out from behind a tree and walked near Sasuke with both hands inside his pocket.

"You've indeed grown, Sasuke. I happen to be proficient in hiding my presence."

Sasuke snorted as Kakashi stood side by side. Both looked at the Uchiha Police Force building.

"Throughout the last two months, I've been trained in sensory abilities and before you ask, yes i knew you were hiding when I talked to the Sandaime. The Anbu taught me a lot, including how to find and identify different chakra presences." Kakashi smiled at his student, before looking at Sasuke's expression from the corner of his only visible eye. At first, he was against the Sandaime revealing the truth so soon to Sasuke. He feared that Sasuke's volatile nature wouldn't understand what the Sandaime wished to explain. Looking at Sasuke now, though, Kakashi found it intriguing. The Uchiha's expression wasn't of anger or hatred, but one of puzzlement and confusion.

_It looks like he's trying to make sense of it all, between his life so far and what Sandaime-sama explained to him. _

"Did you know Itachi, Kakashi-sensei? Before he killed my clan, I mean?" Kakashi nodded, before looking up.

"Yeah, I knew him. He was my junior when he became an Anbu. At the time, I was an Anbu Captain and he had a great amount of skill for someone so young. But then again, I'm not someone to talk, right." Kakashi smiled at the last comment as he was also a child prodigy, graduating almost at the same age as Itachi. He then turned to Sasuke, knowing that Sasuke was now looking at him, instead of looking towards the old building. "Why do you ask?"

"Sandaime-sama explained that he had volunteered to kill the Uchiha Clan. I wonder how a sane person can kill his entire family, if he isn't the evil person I thought he was." Kakashi closed his eyes.

"One thing I know from Itachi was that he cared a lot about the village. I don't know what passed through his mind at the time. I guess he didn't want to see his clan revolting against the village. Sandaime-sama explained to me a while back that, ever since he was little, Itachi managed to comprehend the teachings and legacy of our ancestors, while others didn't even care about them. Itachi was sensitive and capable of understanding a lot about being a shinobi. Sandaime-sama told me that when he was seven years old, Itachi already thought like a Hokage. I assume that he took responsibility for the clan's doings and decided to be the one to make amends." Sasuke looked at Kakashi in surprise, remembering hearing from the Sandaime that he respected Itachi. He was confused about the last part.

"What do you mean by the last part?" Kakashi opened his eye and turned to Sasuke.

"Itachi took the clan's crimes to the grave and made everyone believe that he was the bad guy in this story. To this day, everyone is grateful to the Uchiha Clan for founding the village and protecting it all these years. You'd imagine the repercussions if what the clan intended went public?" Sasuke's eyes widened instantly at the prospect, understanding Kakashi's point. "He took the clan's darkness and focused it entirely on him. He asked only one thing as compensation for his sacrifice and I know you're dying to ask why he had spared you that night." Sasuke looked away instantly, biting his lower lip, ashamed that he had indeed thought of asking this question.

"His only demand was that the Sandaime had to take good care of you, Sasuke." Kakashi smiled as he saw the tears forming in Sasuke's eyes.

"After all, if there was one thing that he cared about more about the village, it was his little brother."

Sasuke let the tears fall as a new image appeared in his mind about who exactly was Uchiha Itachi. Kakashi left Sasuke alone now that he knew that Sasuke was at peace. He was now more than certain of Sasuke's many achievements in the future as he looked to the sky, imagining how proud Obito would be of Sasuke if the man was alive. Kakashi now felt at ease in passing on the mantle of the village's protection to the next generation.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

One week later, Jiraiya was waiting for Naruto to show him the results of his training.

It took a total of three days for the kid to understand earth manipulation, wasting a ton of chakra in this regard. The sannin was astonished both at the amount of chakra and stamina Naruto had while attempting earth manipulation. While waiting for Tsunade's final answer, Jiraiya and Naruto decided to stay in the hotel. Naruto was thus left alone in his training. The pervert sannin was watching the kid's progress while working on his new novel. When he saw the hole created by Naruto after three days, Jiraiya was impressed. He now could teach Naruto the techniques he mentioned before. After getting the exercise down, it wasn't hard for Naruto to nail it. Both the mud bunshin and the mud wall were easy enough, taking him half a day practicing each. The most difficult was the underground fish projection technique as Naruto needed to merge his body with the soil and travel to another distance. The technique required an exact amount of chakra for each travel, thus Naruto needed to understand this before saying that he could use it in the battle.

Without it, any experienced shinobi would be able to expect his movements and plan, having the advantage.

As Jiraiya waited for Naruto's demonstration, he smiled as he saw two other spectators looking at him from the hotel. Throughout the week, both Tsunade and Shizune stood close to the Hotel seeing the kid's training. It seemed that the women were shocked to know that the chunnin wasn't favored by his eyes like the others, but still managed to train and learn just like any other shinobi blessed with the gift of sight. If Naruto also knew about his audience, he didn't show any signs as he went through hand seals, before his body quickly went below ground, emitting a small and almost imperceptible sound, only to appear ten meters from his usual position, right behind a tree. He then used the technique again and returned to the place he once was, earning a nod in approval from the sannin. With this technique, Naruto could use it to infiltrate places and even get out without alerting suspicion.

"Very good, though you should keep practicing; I can still feel your movement below ground. I believe that any Jounin would as well." Naruto nodded, determined to correct the flaw. Jiraiya then turned to Tsunade and Shizune and walked towards the women. He saw Tsunade's frowned expression directed at him and couldn't help but smile lecherously. It was in his nature to mess with her.

"I didn't know you had such passion for little old me, hime. Fear not as I, Jiraiya of the Sannin, have a lot of love to…." He couldn't finish the taunt as he received a direct hit right on his nose, before quickly replacing himself with a log. The unfortunate piece of Nature was smashed to pieces and Jiraiya appeared behind the infuriated sannin. "Such passion indeed my hime." Shizune sighed at the antics displayed by these two, though the woman believed that a part of Tsunade enjoyed her teammate's antics. Looking briefly at Naruto, Shizune saw that the kid wasn't paying attention to the conversation, though she couldn't really know since all that she was able to see was that Naruto wasn't looking at their direction. Little did she know that the chunnin didn't have to. It didn't mean that he was interested, though. He was slightly amused when Tsunade punched Jiraiya.

"Save it you pervert, I'm not interested, nor will I ever be." To that, Jiraiya faked an extensive chest pain. "I have decided to come back with you two."

"That's good to hear, hime. Sensei will certainly be thrilled. He didn't want to go through with placing both of you in the bingo book. I certainly wouldn't appreciate it, you know, seeing as now we'll be seeing each other on a daily basis." Tsunade couldn't help but sigh as she saw the lecherous smirk on the man's face once more. She figured that punching the next Hokage once more would only make matters worse. "You can either come with us as you also share diplomatic immunity or you could go straight to Konoha and talk to sensei, your choice." Tsunade nodded, though she wasn't quite ready to cross the gates of her old village quite yet.

"We'll come with you two. I have to get used to the idea first and the kid seems to be a quiet company, when he's not freaking the shit out of me."

Jiraiya nodded at her with a smile since he understood where she was coming from. It was really unnerving how excited the kid behaved when close to negative emotions.

* * *

**===Naruto's return===**

After leaving Tanzaku Gai, the party of now four met with the rest of Jiraiya's contacts.

Naruto even received two new missions, one C and a B-ranked, from the Hokage, with the latter proving to be quite the field test for the chunnin. The C-ranked one was a simple one, consisting of a reckon job in a village close to the border of Lightning and Fire Country. The Hokage had received rumors of gangs using a village as their meeting place. Naruto managed to sneak in the place and get Intel on this criminal organization, before informing the Hokage. The Intel proved to be quite accurate, thus allowing Hiruzen to send in a team of chunnin to take quick care of the gang. The B-ranked assignment was a different story altogether.

Naruto's mission consisted of infiltrating a village inside Lightning Country's territory and getting information about a rumor that Kumo was placing an outpost there. Although the mission was simply information gathering and Naruto had used a mud bunshin to go in his stead, he didn't account for a team of Jounin to be there waiting for him. It appeared that one of them was a sensor and spotted his presence immediately, forcing the boy to flee. By the time, Naruto got to use his underground travel technique to escape, one of the Jounin managed to land a powerful fire technique on him, causing second degree burns on his entire body. It was only thanks to the fox's chakra and later Tsunade's intervention that saved the chunnin.

In spite of that, the mission was successful and Naruto managed to send information to the Hokage about the confirmation of the outpost.

After the end of the assignments, Naruto focused on increasing his training. Like Jiraiya warned him, he was spotted by a Jounin on his last assignment. Even if the kunoichi was a sensor, he realized he needed to train more. Facing them in direct combat would be ill advised, seeing as not only was he outmatched, but also his cover would be blown. If Kumo heard of Konoha meddling with their affairs without a proper explanation, there would be repercussions. Naruto dreaded the outcome of what 'almost being caught' meant to his grandfather. He was supposed to be tested as an infiltrator to prove that he could replace a sannin in running Jiraiya's spy network.

If Naruto was easily caught, then the Hokage wouldn't trust him with the job.

The chunnin was surprised when both Tsunade and Jiraiya assured him of the contrary. Apparently, the mission's parameters were wrong, due to the lack of updated information. The earlier notion was that Kumo was intending to place an outpost, but as far as Konoha knew, Kumo was still due to choose a suitable location. It just so happened to be the place where Naruto went to. If Hiruzen knew it in advance, the mission would be at least A, bordering on S-ranked. Naruto's choice of fleeing instead of facing the Jounin turned out to be a factor in his favor. Hiruzen sent a message through his summons congratulating Naruto for his quick thinking and stated that Naruto had demonstrated that he was more than ready to take on the spy network, being promoted to Tokubetsu Jounin in the art of infiltration and information gathering.

When the party of four crossed the huge gates of Konoha, all four of them had business to attend.

Naruto followed Jiraiya to the Hokage's office to receive the promotion.

Tsunade and Shizune went straight to the Hospital to start their work.

As soon as Jiraiya and Naruto entered the Hokage's office, they came upon a sight of the Hokage issuing orders to an Anbu Team. They all turned towards the door to see the newcomers. Naruto had paid close attention to the shorter member wearing a tiger mask. Uchiha Sasuke wondered if Naruto was able to know he was there, but then considering their past interaction, it would not be hard for the blind shinobi. Picking out the signal from his team leader, Yuugao, Sasuke followed suit with a shunshin, leaving Naruto and Jiraiya alone with Hiruzen.

"Welcome the both of you, I gather from the reports, that the trip bore fruit." Jiraiya smirked at the praise and nodded at his old sensei.

"You actually thought that little of me, sensei. Like I said, Naruto is more than ready to take on my mantle. I even took the time to give the kid some techniques that will help him. They are all written in this scroll." Hiruzen smiled.

"I'll definitely read it, thank you. Now Naruto-kun, I was deeply impressed with how you handled yourself on the last mission and I am proud to promote you to Tokubetsu Jounin in the art of infiltration and information gathering. You've earned it my boy; here is your new outfit." Naruto grabbed the scroll with a respectful nod at his grandfather. Inside the scroll was the standard jounin attire and the dark green vest. "Now Naruto-kun, I wish to hear from you if you feel ready to take on Jiraiya's spy network." Naruto nodded at the question. He remembered the three jounin from Kumogakure and remembered how their combined strength compared to his own. Even if Naruto was certain he could take one or perhaps two if he used the fox's chakra, he would be in bad shape against the three of them.

He needed to be stronger and he would be stronger.

"I have the necessary abilities to get in and out without attracting attention. However, in case I'm spotted, I can't take on a jounin without going all out and even then, I'm not one hundred percent sure I can win."

Both Hiruzen and Jiraiya nodded at the insight. Indeed, Naruto was skilled for a chunnin and had both the chakra and stamina of a Hokage. However, a jounin had experience and could use it against Naruto.

"Indeed, you are right Naruto." Hiruzen smiled, though if Naruto was seeing right, he was sure he saw his grandfather smile deviously. "In any case, I have another two weeks to prepare Jiraiya for the job. In the meantime, I believe it's high time you spend some time with a good friend of mine." Jiraiya knew to whom his sensei was talking about and shivered slightly. The only reason he was not outright frightened was because he wouldn't be fighting Hiruzen's summon Enma. Naruto, though, appeared to be clueless about the entire ordeal.

"Who is it Jiji? Someone strong?" This time, Naruto was certain. His grandfather was up to something.

"Oh, you know who it is. Go home and rest for the day. We'll talk tomorrow." Naruto, still clueless, nodded and left the office. Jiraiya saw the devious smirk on his sensei's face. He wondered if Naruto really was adopted.

"You are an evil person, sensei. Enma will wipe the floor with him." Hiruzen nodded, even now remembering how his monkey summon did the same thing to the sannin when they were Hiruzen's students.

"Yes, Enma sure will. Naruto's improvement rate increases when he is put against impossible odds. My grandson has the tendency not to give up and keep fighting. You remember when Anko, Kurenai and Yuugao trained him for the chunnin exams?" Jiraiya nodded, now seeing where Hiruzen was coming from. "Naruto will receive the beating of a life time and will be much stronger, because of it; though I wonder if I should ask Enma not to break too many bones. I don't know if the Kyuubi can heal him that fast." Jiraiya saw the devious smirk once more.

"I'll say it again…you're evil."

"Yes I am. Oh and do not think you are off the hook, my dear student. Now that you are back, it is time for us to go through your responsibilities as Hokage."

For some reason, Jiraiya wondered if he could trade places with Naruto now.

* * *

**Author Note**

Wow, it took quite a while to write this chapter. It was on purpose, though, to cover all the missing events before the real time skip of three years. I know that in Sandaime telling Sasuke the truth, there was a huge possibility of either staying truth to Sasuke's character and making him leave the village or slowly making him adjust to the truth without taking dire choices. I know that in doing so, I also took great risk in not being truth to Sasuke's character, but let it be known that it was not my intention. Since the Hokage told him the truth, I believed it made a big difference in Sasuke's path of vengeance. If people feel otherwise, then all I can offer them is my apologies.

Furthermore, for those who believed Tsunade caved too soon and out of her character, I have opted not to go through the same story over and over. Truly, it is quite annoying to hear it over and over. Jiraiya and Naruto appears, trying to convince the woman to return. Tsunade screams at them, saying that Hokage's a fool's job. Naruto gets furious and demands to take it outside. He either gets beaten or shows enough skill to make Tsunade see her loved ones in Naruto. This way, by threatening to make her a missing-nin, we get the desiring effect in the way. For those who are wondering about Orochimaru, please remember that Hiruzen never got to summon the death god, so there wouldn't be any reason to search for her.

Moving on, next chapter, I'll use a three-year time skip, this time showing Orochimaru's quest for Sasuke and Akatsuki's against Naruto.

See you then.


	19. Return

_**Hi there and welcome to another chapter of Meshii.**_

_**First of all, I'm sorry for the lack of updates lately. There were lots of duties - both personal and business - that left me without enough time to even touch my laptop, let alone write a decent chapter. I even have a new boss that is such a pain in the ass, wanting to force her way into how the team does things. It's annoying actually, but that's life. But now I can breathe a little bit and take care of my hobby of writing fanfiction. Now, as I said before, last chapter was the last one before the three year jump in time. Naruto became a spy master, Jiraiya became the Hokage and Sasuke had joined the Anbu forces.**_

_**Now the shippuuden timeline begins.**_

_**Check it out.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 19 – Return**_

_**Beta: Kyuubi123**_

* * *

It was night time and the moon was up and about, trying its best to illuminate the normally dark forest in the border between Grass and Earth Country.

Hidden within the foliage was a wooden cottage, which happened to be hidden from the naked eye with precise seals and landscape genjutsu. If one were to break the security rules, one would see the dimly lit room provided by a lone candle. Inside, old Kaori was busy reading one of the books taken from her private and secret collection that contained everything there was to know about ninja related topics. She paid little mind to the torrential rain as well as the strong winds outside of her cottage. Normally, when it rained outside, the possibility of her hideout being found out increased, because in one specific area of the forest, the rain drops didn't go all the way to the ground. Nevertheless, if anyone were to disable the landscape genjutsu and the seals, there were multiple double layered traps hidden throughout the terrain that guaranteed that no one would bother the old woman.

Her old wrinkled eyes opened slightly when the candle fire flickered for a second, before reverting to its usual position. A smirk was clear in her face.

"You've improved my dear old student." Kaori said, as someone was behind her. "If it wasn't for the candle, I wouldn't be aware of your presence at all."

"You don't need to lie to me, Kaori-sensei." Kaori looked at the shadow behind her. "You knew my presence the moment I passed through the first seal layer." The intruder got up from his kneeling position and walked closer to the candle. He was tall, 5'8" and probably higher, if his blond spiky hair was accounted for. He wore the typical Konoha jounin attire covered by a forest green cloak that covered his upper body to blend with the landscape better. The cloak matched the student's lifeless green eyes as he kneeled in front of the table that held the candle. For a moment, neither said a word as Kaori stared at her prodigy.

"Your ability to catch on lies and deceit also improved, Naruto-kun." The Tokubetsu jounin nodded in appreciation of his sensei's teachings. Since Naruto initiated his spy network in Jiraiya's stead, he managed to keep constant contact with all the members of the network. However, he always placed great effort into accommodating extra time with Kaori as he greatly respected the old woman. She had also taken a liking to the young spy master, going as far as choosing him as her student. If it was one thing that Kaori deeply regretted while she was an active jounin, it was never finding a suitable shinobi for her to pass on her knowledge to. Naruto was such person and she taught him everything she knew about poisons, infiltration and genjutsu, all three referenced as the subtle arts of an assassin.

Naruto left ninjutsu, kenjutsu and taijutsu training when he was inside Fire Country, like Jiraiya taught him.

"I'm sure you're aware, sensei, of my newest assignment from Hokage-sama." The old woman nodded, recalling the brief message sent to her two days ago.

"Yes I'm aware, though I didn't think Jiraiya would send you to take care of councilmember Kisuke." It was Naruto's second S-ranked assignment given from Jiraiya and second clandestine mission, meaning that if Naruto was caught, Konoha would simply disavow him and thus deny any knowledge or order. Kusa Daimyou's most trusted advisor and president of the council; Kisuke had his hands in many dirty deeds in Grass, Earth and even Fire Country, going from money laundering to drugs and illegal weapon shipment all over these countries. The only reason it took so long for anyone to make a move on him was precisely his position inside the Daimyo's palace. Jiraiya believed that if Naruto was able to sneak inside Kaori's house, then he was ready to do the same inside Kisuke's castle that happened to be located a few miles from the Daimyo's palace and even shared the same samurai army. This operation was sponsored by the Fire Country's Daimyo and one member of the Kusa Daimyo's council that gathered the documents that proved Kisuke's actions.

"Hokage-sama has faith in my abilities that I worked hard in obtaining throughout the last three years."

Right now, there were only a few out there including sensor shinobi that could pinpoint Naruto's location. Kaori nodded with a satisfied smile on her face. She agreed with Jiraiya.

"I agree with him about your infiltration skills. I just question how much the man risked if you somehow got caught. Konoha's entire spy network depends on you now that Jiraiya's the Hokage." Naruto smirked at the level of care he received by his sensei. "How are you going to go about killing him? From what I understand, Kisuke is constantly followed by four samurai and rarely get inside anywhere without the samurai's express approval. Even poisoning the man's drink, like I would have done, is out of the question, since he normally orders his samurai to drink and eat everything first." Naruto nodded at the woman's report. However, after tailing the man for one straight week, he managed to find the perfect opportunity to handle the assignment.

"Everything you said was correct, Kaori-sensei. However, Kisuke's paranoid routine didn't take his bathroom into account, or his bathroom supplies to be more precise."

It took a couple seconds before Kaori's mouth showed a brief smile. She was indeed impressed.

"Kisuke shaves every night before going to sleep. It was simply a matter of poisoning his razor with one of your special blends, impossible to trace, and he was finished in seconds. The man won't even let out a sound which means that he will only be found the next morning." Kaori nodded in acceptance at the job well done. In her mind, Naruto would come to her first and then begin the assignment. She was slightly surprised to acknowledge that it was actually the other way around. "Now, I was hoping to hear some information about Akatsuki. The last time you said they were focused on gathering funds by accepting some jobs for Iwagakure." Kaori nodded at the spy master.

"So far nothing has changed as far as those black cloaks are concerned. I believe that it won't take long before they return to their previous assignment of collecting the bijuu. Whoever the leader is, the man's smart. Aside from their job in Iwagakure, any information about their existence or even their members is kept under lock and key. No one knows about them, aside from Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame when they went to Konoha after you." Naruto nodded, already feeling in the blanks left for his monthly report. Aside from the few assignments, Jiraiya required a monthly report about the elemental nations and their actions. So far, the only village worthy of attention was Kirigakure, since Naruto received information that the civil war was finally over and the village had chosen a new Mizukage, a kunoichi by the name of Mei Terumi. Kumo was the usual, forever building its forces and preparing for war. Sunagakure wasn't Naruto's focus, per Jiraiya's orders. Apparently, the Sannin turned Hokage managed to strike a deal in compensation for the war. He managed to keep the alliance. Nevertheless, Naruto kept his eyes on the hidden village in the sand through the words of an individual that worked for the Daimyo's office in Wind Country.

From what he understood, Sunagakure's resident jinchuuriki was nothing but trouble for the newly elected Kazekage Baki, but aside from that, not much happened.

After finishing the report, Naruto placed the scroll inside his vest and got up.

"I'll be going then sensei. It has been two years since I've been in Konoha. It is time to return, I guess." Kaori nodded, but said nothing about it. In order for Naruto to keep up with his busy schedule of meeting his contacts and training, he chose to return to his home village at a later date. The old woman went back to her book as Naruto vanished from her room with an earth technique, merging his body with the floor, until he was gone from the cottage.

* * *

*****In Hostile Territory*****

* * *

Little time was wasted after Naruto emerged from the ground outside Kaori's house perimeter.

He had casted a disorienting genjutsu on himself before making a run towards the border with Fire Country. Even if his assignment was successful and that no one would notice Kisuke dead inside his bathroom until morning, Naruto needed to erase his presence inside Grass Country completely. He wasn't worried with the samurai that were stationed inside the Daimyo's castle, but rather with the shinobi force of Kusagakure that constantly kept guard nearby. The heavy rain would normally tamper his movements, but because of his sight condition and his special technique, the rain drops practically showed the path before him much clearer. After constantly using the technique to ease the infiltrations, Naruto now felt accustomed to the little chakra waste. He no longer turned it off.

After half an hour running, his eye technique registered a presence a hundred meters north from his position forcing Naruto to halt his movements and quickly hide behind the bush.

The spy master was already in position to strike, should the need arise. Throughout his new career, Naruto was only caught once while infiltrating Iwagakure one year ago. At the time, he had just left the meeting place with his contact when a warehouse he was passing by exploded. The one responsible for the explosion happened to be a blond shinobi that wore a scratched Iwagakure headband, meaning he was a nuke-nin by the name of Deidara. At the time, the nuke-nin was chased by two chunnin and they spotted Naruto when the explosion happened. Naruto knew what he had to do. He couldn't get caught in hostile territory. Deidara was already gone and Naruto capitalized on the chunnin's focus on the nuke-nin, throwing senbon at their necks, laced with paralysis poison. The chunnin were on the ground, before Naruto picked up their bodies and threw them back inside the warehouse that was on fire. If anyone were to check the place out, the chunnin would be nothing but burned bodies, impossible to identity, let alone investigate the cause of death.

In present time, Naruto was hidden from plain view as he watched three shadows, probably Kusa-nin, jumping over him, going towards the direction he just came from.

Naruto waited for five minutes, before running once more.

Fifteen minutes later and a few shunshin, he managed to cross the border, entering the land of Fire Country, heading towards Konohagakure.

* * *

*****Konohagakure*****

* * *

The weather in the hidden village, the very next day, was the complete opposite. The sun was scorching hot, but the population was saved by a gentle breeze, while peacefully roaming throughout the busy pathways. Jiraiya had decided to take a walk towards his office building, while greeting the population and stealthily checking on some of the women that passed by. The last three years went by fast in his opinion. It didn't take long for him to get accustomed to the Kage position as well as its quirks. The perverted sannin even found himself not missing the outside world as he figured he would, sitting behind a desk all day. He had people to keep him company in Konoha like his teammate Tsunade with whom the pervert shared a bottle of saké every day.

He also had his sensei that happened to be his personal advisor, together with Koharu and Homura, though Jiraiya wondered if his sensei was doing it just to push Danzou away from them.

As Jiraiya walked, he could follow the movements of his most trusted Anbu team, especially one specific member that constantly surprised everyone's expectations inside Anbu. Ever since Sasuke joined the Anbu forces, the young Uchiha dedicated his entire efforts into the job, doing nothing but performing missions and training inside the Anbu obstacle courses. Normally, one would question the need for a bit of human contact, but Sasuke had found that with his Anbu peers. Each one of them had a bad history to tell and Sasuke enjoyed the connection he shared with them. The new Anbu captain in Sasuke's unit happened to share even more things in common as Tenzou had Orochimaru to deal with in the past as well. Sasuke would always be seen training with the guy in open combat. Sasuke was already promoted to jounin inside the forces and thus could choose to abandon the mask and join the regular jounin forces.

He chose not to, though, saying that until he fought against one specific shinobi, he wouldn't stop training.

Jiraiya knew who this person was and couldn't help but smile at the rivalry set between Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. Both were already considered legends in the making.

As soon as the pervert stepped foot inside the Hokage's Office Building, he realized that something was amiss with his shadow unit. He could see that Sasuke felt it too. The presence was strangely familiar to Jiraiya, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint the intruder's location and that was saying something, because he was considered a master in infiltration as well. Whoever this person was, he or she was extremely good. Ushering a silent command to his Anbu squad to investigate, Jiraiya kept walking inside the building, confident that his team would find the one responsible and bring it to him. The presence didn't appear to have the intent to kill or maim, so it wasn't an attempt from some hidden village on the Hokage.

* * *

*****Inside the Hokage's Office*****

* * *

When Jiraiya entered the Hokage's office, the presence he felt earlier was stronger now. It was precisely this moment that the frame of the Yondaime Hokage shimmered and Naruto appeared, releasing the Meisaigakure no Jutsu.

The Hokage was speechless for a second, before smirking at his student's ability to break inside his office, without alerting anyone.

"Please explain why you found the need to infiltrate your own home, Naruto-kun?" Jiraiya's question was laced with amusement more than anything.

In no time, the Anbu unit filled the shadows, protecting the Hokage. Sasuke saw his rival and cursed that Naruto managed to trick him. If the spy master caught on it, he didn't show it.

"My apologies, sensei; infiltrating has become a force of habit I'm afraid. Kisuke was dealt with as per your request. Here is the scroll with my report." Jiraiya nodded with a smile on his face. He had complete confidence that Naruto would come through with his solo assassination assignments. The Fire Daimyo will certainly be pleased with the new development. Jiraiya quickly ran through the report of the happenings of other villages, before closing it with a serious expression on his face.

"Kiri's civil war is over?" Naruto nodded, knowing that Jiraiya wanted it verified to its every details.

"Our contact confirmed it. The newly elected Mizukage is the leader of the bloodline rebellion Mei Terumi. Two drunken chunnin were so ecstatic about the news that neither one bothered to hide the truth from a traveler that was passing by asking questions." Jiraiya snorted at the unoriginal move from his student. That was precisely how he would go about getting information. "Because of the Yondaime Mizuke's defeat, the three tailed demon had vanished. The Mizukage is creating a task force to search for the demon near the islands of Water and even Wave Country. It would be prudent to let our patrol stationed in Wave Country be aware of possible intrusions from Kirigakure." Jiraiya nodded with a pleased smile on his face.

"I think it's prudent. I'll verity the information with the Daimyou's office then. If Kiri's war is over, then the commercial routes must be open once more. Anything else you'd like to report?"

"Not much has changed since my last report. Kumo is continuing its project of increasing its forces and Iwagakure is still focused on reestablishing their lost numbers due to the Third Great Ninja War. Our contact in Grass Country said that Iwa used Akatsuki on a couple of missions, but nothing more was heard from the organization. I'm still working on a contact we can use inside Rice Country. Orochimaru doesn't trust anyone with his movements, except perhaps his right hand Kabuto." Jiraiya nodded, reaching the same dead-end many times.

"Orochimaru is too much for you now, Naruto. He knows how our spy network operates, so he knows how to keep them from obtaining information. Focus on the villages for now."

Naruto nodded, not much interested in the subject to tell the truth.

"I'll take my leave then Hokage-sama; I've been out of the village for some time." Jiraiya nodded.

"Yes, your family is very perturbed about it. You'll hear a mouth full from your mother, that's for sure." Naruto bowed before turning his neck briefly to look at Sasuke's location, before vanishing via shunshin. The Hokage wanted to hear some acknowledgement from the kid, but Naruto left without saying anything, ruining all his fun. Still, Jiraiya now had plenty of faith in Naruto's work as his replacement. He just wished the kid had a hobby, just like his research. It certainly would make the trip that much enjoyable.

* * *

*****Inside the Sarutobi Compound*****

* * *

As soon as Naruto shunshined inside his home, he looked around the place a bit, frowning at the lack of presence nearby. From what he could remember, his mother was usually inside the kitchen or in the garden playing with Konohamaru. Of course, Konohamaru graduated from the academy, so Mikoto wasn't able to do that anymore. His father would be either training his bo-staff inside one of the family's private training grounds or playing shogi with the Sandaime Hokage. Speaking of his grandfather, Naruto heard the door behind him open and Hiruzen Sarutobi emerge smoking his pipe while reading something. Hiruzen looked up and looked at the new presence inside his own house. The time apart from his grandson was enough for Hiruzen to question who this person was and why was he dressing similarly to his old student Orochimaru.

"Long time no see, Jiji." Hiruzen smirked immediately upon hearing the word.

"It is indeed Naruto-kun, I almost didn't recognize you with the new outfit. You've grown a lot, I see and not only in height." As a seasoned shinobi, Hiruzen noticed a lot of a qualified shinobi's attitudes in his grandson.

"Thanks, both Enma-sama and Sarubo-san appeared from time to time in my travels to beat the shit out of me, keep me in shape. After the constant beating, I was able to go toe to toe with Sarubo in close combat. Enma-sama's simply too much for me now." Sarutobi nodded with a pleased smile on his face. Fighting in equal grounds with your familiar was considered a rite of passage in the Sarutobi Clan. Hiruzen remembered how tough Enma was to beat when he was Naruto's age. Right now, for Naruto to beat Enma was the equivalent of beating Hiruzen himself, which of course was still impossible. "So, jiji, where is everyone? I thought I would come by and say hello to Tou-san and Kaa-san. How is Kono doing?"

"Your parents decided to take a small trip but I believe they will return tomorrow. Your mother was tired of my presence inside the house." Hiruzen followed the comment with a nice and warm laugh.

He did make it a habit of his to piss off his daughter from time to time. She always complained that he worked too much and never got to rest. Now that he passed the mantle to Jiraiya, the old man's responsibilities and duties were completely reduced to simply help Jiraiya when he needed it. Hiruzen remembered how angry his daughter was when Hiruzen kept smoking his pipe in front of Konohamaru. Naruto could imagine the scene playing in front of him, as he could imagine how hard it must be for his grandfather now that he was no longer the Hokage.

"And Kono?"

"Graduated about six months now, he must be going through the usual D-ranks now. He misses you like crazy, you know? Keeps asking when his big bro will return." The warm feeling made him weaker, but Naruto learned that when it came from his family, he was okay with it. It's not like anyone would attack him with the Sandaime Hokage nearby. "Say Naruto-kun, I don't have anything to do now and since you've just come back, how about we spar some, no restrictions. I want to see how strong you are now." Naruto nodded.

"Sure thing, I'll meet you outside. Just need to place my belongings in my room." Hiruzen nodded, before yanking his beige robe, to check his battle gear.

"You're quite eager, aren't you Jiji?"

"Sure am, your uncle doesn't want to fight me anymore and your father doesn't have the chakra capacity to keep up for long. I have to say that I'm indeed quite eager. If anything, you'll last longer than Asuma."

For some reason, Naruto remembered the seconds before getting ready to face Enma-sama in battle. Hiruzen's eyes promised pretty much the same.

* * *

*****Two hours later*****

* * *

While walking throughout the streets of his home village and feeling slightly put off at not having to avoid detection, Naruto would be seen rubbing his sore limbs from time to time. Indeed fighting against his grandfather was no joke. Naruto wondered how it must have been to face Sarutobi Hiruzen when he was younger. His grandfather's style of fighting was always focused on heavy hitting using his bo-staff. The old man was lenient on Naruto and had not used Enma as the bo-staff, to which Naruto's body appreciated dearly. The spar was pretty much one-sided after ten minutes and, even after Hiruzen assured the boy that his own father hadn't lasted that long, Naruto got the feeling that his grandfather was toying with him the entire time.

If it weren't for Naruto's ninjutsu which was able to push Hiruzen away for a while, the fight would have ended much sooner. Hiruzen would simply overcome any genjutsu Naruto tried using.

The fight went pretty much the same as when he fought against Enma-sama. Nevertheless, Naruto enjoyed the fight immensely and vouched to ask his grandfather for more next time. Hiruzen welcomed the challenge with a strange sense of eagerness. Apparently, Naruto's skills impressed Hiruzen; especially when Naruto's mixed use of doton and lightning techniques respectively used for defensive and offensive purposes came into light. His grandfather complemented Naruto stating that unlike many others out there, Naruto managed to train all of his shinobi abilities equally, meaning that he was much better-rounded and even more unpredictable in an all-out fight. His meiton techniques wouldn't help him much, since it mostly worked with people he was fighting to kill. Hiruzen was one of the few that Naruto had that were close to him and he was now searching for another, either Tonbo-sensei or Anko.

Naruto's relationship with Anko was considered odd by others, but for them it worked. It wasn't considered romantic in any way. Put simply, he was there for her to talk to and blow off some steam. Anko enjoyed being around Naruto as the blond was different from the ones she used to hang out with. To Anko, the men in Konoha were either the brutal type that wanted nothing but to see her naked or those who wished for a meaningful relationship filled with romance. Anko considered herself in the middle as far as men were concerned. She simply enjoyed having sex with a person that wanted the same thing from her. Not a brute, but also not a perfect gentleman. She saw everything she desired in Naruto and he had the extra stamina to keep up with her, especially when her hormones kicked in. The first time it happened the woman was surprised to hear that Naruto wasn't the virgin she thought he was, despite the fact that he didn't fall for her seduction techniques that easy.

What Anko didn't know at the time was that aside from Kaori, there was one spy that Naruto tended to visit more than the others and that was Touka. Naruto's first time happened out of necessity. One time he appeared inside the brothel to talk to the woman when a squad of Iwa-nin barged inside, demanding some of the women there. Naruto couldn't blow up his cover, because they were four in total and jounin by the looks of it. He thus had to make it look like he was there wanting the same thing as the Iwa-nin. When he approached the woman with his trouble, Touka was all too eager to grant his wishes, showing him everything she knew about the art of seduction and even taking advantage of his necessity. Since then, every time that Naruto would visit the woman, the same thing would happen. Now Naruto was her favorite customer and Touka was his second favorite spy. She frowned at the prospect of being his second favorite, but relaxed when he explained about Kaori, without telling Touka her identity.

One of the rules of the spy network was that no spy could know about the another one. If one was corrupted, then the entire network could fall as well.

Naruto took a right and walked by the pathway parallel to the lake that divided Konoha when he felt a familiar presence following him. Naruto simply smirked and stopped.

"Why are you following me, Sasuke?" Behind Naruto appeared a grown-up Sasuke using his Anbu armor and the tiger mask.

"You know that my identity isn't supposed to be revealed so casually, Naruto." Naruto snorted, knowing full well that there was no one nearby. Looking closely at Sasuke, Naruto couldn't help but smirk at the results of Sasuke's training. His chakra capacity more than doubled since last time Naruto saw him and Naruto could even feel Sasuke's more refined affinity towards lightning and fire. When Kakashi first tested their affinity, Sasuke's affinity was one hundred percent towards lightning. However, it was well known that Sasuke trained in fire techniques ever since he started to mold chakra. His posture also indicated a level of skill that Naruto saw in jounin and above level shinobi. "I see you've gotten stronger since last time, Naruto. Your chakra levels increased."

"Did you develop sensor type abilities that I wasn't aware of? This is interesting. I see that Anbu has taken good care of you as well." Sasuke snorted. His training was no easy pickings.

"I needed to survive. Apparently, Itachi went through the same drills, so they believed I should go through them as well." Naruto didn't sense any sort of fluctuations in Sasuke's chakra at the mention of Itachi.

"You're acting a bit too casual about being compared to your brother. Did something happen while I was away?" Sasuke smiled, remembering that he had yet to tell Naruto about what he was told.

"Quite a lot, actually; I'll fill you in of the details later on. What is important now is that we have a little showdown. I want to see the results of your training." Naruto smiled as he sensed Sasuke's chakra reaching for his eyes.

"By the way you're flaring your chakra; you wish to fight here in the middle of the village. I thought you said your identity couldn't be revealed?" Sasuke smirked at the comment.

"Training Ground number 7 is empty. We can go there." Sasuke said, before vanishing within a shunshin.

Naruto found Sasuke way too eager for a fight, well more eager than he was three years ago. Turning towards his next destination, Naruto went towards the nearby rooftops as he pondered on Sasuke's abilities in anticipation to his fight. Also, his limbs were still aching from the fight he had with his grandfather, meaning that he had to avoid getting in close combat with the Uchiha. He knew how fond Sasuke was of fighting up close. Naruto figured he could use that to his advantage using long range attacks to keep him occupied. As he travelled throughout the village, he was unaware of the audience inside the Hokage's office spying on him through Sarutobi Hiruzen's crystal ball. Hatake Kakashi, Tsunade, Hiruzen, Anko, Tonbo and the Hokage watched as Naruto travelled towards the field where Sasuke would fight against him, to test Naruto's skills after his training. Hiruzen didn't tell anyone about his little spar with Naruto, otherwise he would spoil everyone's fun in the room. In his right mind, Naruto and Sasuke were both equal in strength and skill, except that Naruto's chakra capacity was higher than everyone in the room put together.

He looked around the room and saw that everyone was quite interested in this fight. Anko was the most vibrant of them, stating that Naruto will certainly win. Hiruzen didn't have any qualms with his grandson's peculiar relationship with her, unlike the boy's mother, but that was to be expected of course. Despite Mikoto understanding that Naruto would never get in a romantic relationship in his life, because of his personality, it didn't mean that she understood a relationship based purely on sex and nothing more than that. Hiruzen deeply suspected that Mikoto protested the relationship, because the odds of her becoming a grandmother has reduced considerably, at least as far as Naruto was concerned. She still had young Konohamaru after all.

Kaito's reaction varied between congratulating his son and siding with his wife to save himself from Mikoto's wrath. Quite frankly, Hiruzen didn't have an issue, so long as his grandson wasn't being forced into anything.

"Who wants to bet that Naruto will beat Sasuke into the ground? I put 100 ryo on the gaki." Tsunade boldly said, making everyone look at her.

"You wish to bet again Tsunade. After finally lowering your debt to a bare minimum, you wanna start over?" The woman blushed under the scrutiny eyes of her master. Kakashi, though, decided to join in as well.

"OK, I'll bet 100 on Sasuke to win. Tonbo here owes me money, so if Sasuke loses…" The blind jounin turned surprised at Kakashi, wondering what the hell was Kakashi talking about.

"Oi Kakashi, since when do I owe you any money?" Kakashi turned into his dramatically thinking pose.

"Oh let's see. Well, last week, you wanted money to buy that red-head a bottle of saké." Tonbo looked alarmed, but Kakashi just kept going, presumably unaware that everyone started laughing. "Three days ago, one of our techniques misfired and it broke that old lady's porch and also yesterday, you asked money…." Anko was already on the floor holding her stomach and Tsunade was on the verge of it as well. Hiruzen and Jiraiya were just content in smiling at the blind jounin.

"Okay…okay Kakashi-sempai, I remember. Just stop talking." The scarecrow jounin just nodded with a smile on his face.

* * *

*****Training Ground 7*****

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke stood face to face, each observing the other's movements.

Sasuke knew how Naruto operated and thus knew that his opponent would move exactly the same time as he did. Choosing not to take this much longer and already feeling the rush of the imminent battle, Sasuke unleashed his ninjato and vanished from his position, before appearing by Naruto's side posing for the strike. The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed in the clearing as the two combatants stood there with their respective kenjutsu stances. Sasuke appeared impressed but not surprised that Naruto managed to keep up with half his available speed. It also didn't look like the blond shinobi worked too hard to follow it, either. Sasuke's sharingan received the information and Sasuke immediately leaped out of the way as a second Naruto appeared from behind with a sword strike.

The one that Sasuke attacked transformed into mud.

"You improved your speed I take it. This will be interesting." Naruto said, before charging himself towards Sasuke. Sasuke could see Naruto's movements and positioned accordingly, blocking the strike. He was surprised, however, at the force behind the blow. His arms buckled at the sudden force and Naruto's attack managed to find an opening. The Anbu shinobi used his evasion tactics, before attacking Naruto once more from behind. A sword dance soon followed, neither side showing any signs of favoritism. Surprising Naruto, Sasuke dropped on the ground and performed a low kick, meant to destabilize the spy. It worked and Sasuke quickly performed back flips while doing hand seals.

_Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)_

The gigantic fire projectile rushed forward the still falling Naruto, who got hit dead on. The fire bomb exploded on the ground, causing a lot of damage. When the smoke cleared, all Sasuke saw was the damaged ground, but no corpse as expected. He looked around trying to pinpoint Naruto's location, but to no avail. The Uchiha was surprised when something appeared out of thin air and slightly sliced his right arm. He couldn't see anything for a while, before he looked at the horizon in front of him. When he turned to his side, Sasuke was surprised to see Naruto there about to slice him in half. Sasuke wondered how the hell Naruto managed to approach him without him being aware. Sasuke blocked the strike, realizing that Naruto was a master at infiltration.

Sasuke blocked the strike with his sword, before placing his right hand in front of his mouth and exhaling consecutive fireballs at Naruto, meant to drive him away. Naruto saw the fire projectiles coming his way and dodged them all, using his speed. He saw that Sasuke was still falling and quickly went through hand seals, before slamming both hands in a pray like position. Both his hands were surrounded by lightning energy, as Naruto worked quickly in overpowering the technique, before launching the technique he learned during his travels close to Lightning Country.

_Raiton Gian (Lightning Release: False Darkness Technique)_

The fast beam of lightning surprised Sasuke and he quickly used a kawarimi to replace himself with a log. He saw the log where he once stood explode and imagine what would be like if he wasn't fast enough. Certainly, Naruto wasn't pulling any punches, but then again, neither did he since all his fire techniques were lethal. A part of him was angry that he wasn't able to copy the technique. The other part was excited because of the fight. He had to stop smiling, however, when a couple of shuriken appeared in his sight, but this time Sasuke was prepared and blocked the projectile with his ninjato. Another projectile soon followed, this time a fuuma shuriken. Sasuke dodged it by kneeling on the ground. He saw the fuuma's shadow and realized his mistake. The first one passed on top of his head, but the second one went straight ahead. Sasuke quickly jumped out of the way, before his danger sense obliged him to block Naruto's sword strike by instinct.

"This fight is very interesting, Sasuke. I'm having a lot of fun." The Uchiha smirked as he parried sword strikes with Naruto.

"Indeed it is." Naruto suddenly felt that something was wrong with his chakra, realizing immediately Sasuke's intention. He bombarded his chakra pathways dispelling Sasuke's illusion by force.

Sasuke was coming from his back with his sword ready to slice Naruto in half. The blind spy wasn't fast enough and Sasuke finished his move starting from Naruto's shoulder to his waist.

The Uchiha's shock as well as the audience, with the Sandaime's exception, gasped at the attack. When instead of blood and internal organs, mud sprawled all over Sasuke's body. He saw that Naruto was replaced with a mud bunshin and released the breath he was holding at the improbable scene. He wouldn't attack so viciously if he knew that Naruto wasn't ready to dodge or evade. Sasuke's danger sense triggered and he jumped out of the way, before a few black senbon landed where he once stood. Sasuke's sharingan saw other senbons heading his way, forcing Sasuke to block them all using his sword. The senbon kept coming at him, forcing him to stay on the defensive, while searching for the real Naruto's location. As he blocked the senbon, Sasuke realized with a frown how much Naruto managed to improve in only three years. His rival was already good back then, but now Naruto trained enough that Sasuke was hard pressed to find anything he could use that Naruto didn't have a counter for.

He feared that Naruto so far hadn't shown everything he was able to do.

* * *

*****At the Hokage's Office*****

* * *

"Damn it Naruto, you almost gave a heart attack**" **Anko was breathing with effort and her heart beat was heavily increased.

"Apparently, he acquired a taste for the theatrics during his travels. He scared all of us Anko." Jiraiya could imagine whom Naruto learned this from. Kaori would always take risks like that, throwing their opponents off course, leading them to believe that she was done for. "That aside, the gaki had acquired a nice set of skills. Perhaps Sasuke wasn't the best candidate to face Naruto face to face." Even if Sasuke's sharingan gave him an edge in illusions, Naruto's range of skills allowed him to become unpredictable in a fight. Naruto could fight Sasuke in close combat, using his sword skills. He could also take the fight to mid-range, through his lightning, earth and meiton ninjutsu. Also, from what they have seen, Naruto could shift to long range combat as well. Not to mention that Kaori taught him the more subtle art like poison and infiltration abilities. Sasuke was ill equipped against Naruto.

Hiruzen was comfortable in not saying anything, until now.

"I don't know who taught him to fight like this. It reminds me of the shinobi fights in the past where a single misstep was the difference between life and death."

Sarutobi didn't want to say it out loud, but Naruto's fighting style resembles that of his former student Orochimaru.

* * *

*****Training Ground 7*****

* * *

Sasuke got irritated after the last batch of senbon and used a grand fireball technique, incinerating the senbon and everything in its path.

Showing signs of slight exhaustion, Sasuke awaited for his rival to appear and fight once more. He wasn't ready to fight this new Naruto. The blond was too unpredictable, making it difficult for Sasuke to find a pattern to capitalize on. He figured that in close range, he was better. But before he could press his advantage, Naruto would use mid-range level jutsu to create distance, before going long range and attacking. Suddenly, Naruto appeared from out of nowhere and take the battle up close. It was frustrating to say the least. Right now, Sasuke felt like he was in some sort of labyrinth and every turn he made, he just went back to where he started. The fights he was accustomed with were more direct than this.

Sasuke held his breath once more when he sensed an imminent threat.

He looked on the horizon and paled when thousands upon thousands of kunai flew towards him, promising nothing but pain for the young Uchiha. He was about to get out of the way when his sharingan registered the technique, a genjutsu. The kunai all passed through him and Sasuke smirked at Naruto's choice of attack. Using genjutsu against the Sharingan was useless. Sasuke realized with shock when he saw one of the kunai that was different than the others and it was aimed straight to his heart. Quickly and with great effort, Sasuke positioned his ninjato to block the incoming projectile. The sword wasn't fast enough to block it, but at least Sasuke was able to change its direction.

The kunai sliced Sasuke's shoulder instead, earning a snarl in pain. He was about to retaliate when his body suddenly felt numb.

Naruto appeared just as Sasuke's body fell haphazardly on the ground. Sasuke's mind, despite having trouble, processed Naruto's intention.

"You poisoned me?" Naruto nodded as he kneeled close to the Uchiha.

"It was just a numbing agent, that's all. A mere scratch from my kunai was enough to send it directly to your blood stream. The chemical substance immediately affects your blood pressure, reducing your consciousness. You're close to fainting right now, right?" Sasuke nodded, as he looked at his rival. Everything in this fight was surprising to the young Uchiha. He never imagined losing a fight to poison and not subtle like this. "Do not fret, though. The results will wear off in about twenty minutes."

* * *

*****Hokage's Office*****

* * *

Naruto's last strategy had everyone dumbstruck for a while.

They all knew that using genjutsu to beat an Uchiha was next to impossible, but somehow Naruto had done it. Of course, Sasuke wasn't aware that the kunai was coated with poison. Tonbo was smiling at his student and remembering that little kid working his ass off to overcome his blindness. Kakashi looked at the ball in wondering at how fast Naruto had grown. The strategy employed in that last attack was brilliant. He knew about Naruto's genjutsu technique as the boy used it one time three years ago in a mission with Hayame. Naruto accounted for Sasuke's sharingan to pinpoint the only real kunai and that he would block it. Sasuke couldn't evade it, because the kunai was thrown with dead accuracy towards Sasuke's heart region. Releasing the genjutsu, even if one had the sharingan, took close to two seconds tops. By that time, the kunai would already be inches from the heart. Sasuke was actually faster and managed to release the illusion in one and a half second, before placing the sword to parry the real kunai.

The Uchiha just didn't account for the poison and ended up losing the battle.

Naruto had become a fearsome individual, purely because of his unpredictability in the midst of battle. He could imagine how lost Sasuke was. Naruto has trained to incorporate close, mid and long-range fighting techniques, allowing him to switch through the three forms and fool his opponent. Such a range of skills could only be beaten by seasoned shinobi that fought in the previous wars. Sasuke had no such experience and Naruto took advantage of it; a true jounin in Kakashi's book. Hiruzen and Jiraiya shared the same opinion as Jiraiya looked towards the shadow of his office with a curt nod. His mind was already made up as far as promotions were concerned. Anko was licking her fingers in anticipation.

* * *

*****Training Ground 7*****

* * *

Naruto was on the ground close to Sasuke who had already succumbed to unconsciousness because of Naruto's poison.

The spy had already administered the antidote to rid the poison out of Sasuke's system, but it would still take a while for Sasuke to wake up. The blond tokubetsu jounin considered just leaving him here. The sun had already left the horizon, but the moon wasn't fully up yet. To Naruto, however, it mattered very little as he couldn't count on either sun or moon light to guide his movements. He was about to get up and leave when the distinguishing image of a shunshin materialized to his right. An Anbu appeared with long purple hair. Naruto smiled at the memory of being drilled to the ground in kenjutsu three years ago from this very person.

"Hi there Yuugao-san?" The woman didn't react to the open disrespect for an Anbu's identity.

"I think Sasuke had already told you that you shouldn't say our names out loud, Naruto." The blind shinobi just nodded with a smile on his face.

"If you're here, than it means the Hokage wishes to see me?" Yuugao nodded, while approaching Sasuke's unconscious body.

"You were about to leave him here, weren't you?"

Opposed to what she expected, Naruto simply acknowledged her question with a simple 'yes' and vanished within a shunshin. Yuugao snorted at that and vanished with Sasuke.

* * *

*****Hokage's Office*****

* * *

It didn't take long for Naruto to get inside the Hokage's Office. He saw that the office was quite crowded with those that were a part of his life. He quickly greeted Kakashi and Tonbo-sensei, while giving a quick nod at his grandfather and Tsunade. Naruto saw Anko looking at him with those same eyes and smiled at her, before turning to the Hokage. The crystal ball of his grandfather was on top of the Hokage's desk, meaning they were all watching his fight with Sasuke. His mind didn't take long to realize what happened.

"I presume that Sasuke's challenge wasn't out of his own need to fight me, right?" Jiraiya nodded with a smirk on his face.

"Yes it was. I wanted to see if you were ready." Naruto's lack of response was like a silent question for Jiraiya to complete the sentence. "Three years ago, you were promoted to Tokubetsu jounin based on your jounin level skills in infiltration and espionage. Now after seeing your fight against Sasuke, you've demonstrated a wider range of skills that befits a full jounin. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, kenjutsu, genjutsu; you've been quite busy haven't you gaki? With that being said, and under the authority of the Hokage, with the express approval of an elite jounin, I hereby promote you Uzumaki Naruto from tokubetsu jounin into Full Jounin effectively immediately. Congratulations gaki, you've earned it."

Naruto bowed in respect at the praise, before exchanging his light green vest for a much darker one, signaling his promotion. He was about to bow to Kakashi, being the elite jounin, when Anko took a step forward and placed a hand on his chest, before shunshining away from the room. Guess the woman really couldn't hold her own much longer, after all. Tsunade snorted in disgust and left the room, not catching the other's behavior. Kakashi and Jiraiya were both giggling like a school girl; Hiruzen was busy keeping the blood from leaving his nose and Tonbo's face was as red as a tomato.

* * *

**_Okay, that's the end for now._**

**_I thought about writing a lemon scene with Naruto and Anko, but then I remembered that the website is really picky about censoring adult terms. I don't want to risk being expelled from the website, so I'll just leave the scene to your perverted minds. Now, about comparing Naruto's fighting style with Orochimaru was intentional. We all know that Orochimaru doesn't fight like the rest, more often than not, using subtle methods to trick the opponent, before going in for the kill. Yakushi Kabuto and Sasori are similar as well, but Sasori uses puppets and poison only. Orochimaru has the full set, just like Naruto._**

**_Tell me what you all think._**

**_See ya._**


End file.
